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THE 


ANXIOUS   INQUIRER 


SALVATION. 


BYEEV    JOHN   ANGELL   JAMES, 


OF    BIRMINGHAM,    ENGLAND. 


What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ' 

Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved. 

Acts  1(5:30,  31. 


J7     yy^      OF  THE  ^   \ 

RED  UNDER  THE  SANCTION  OF  THE  AUTH 

rUKIVERSITyl 


PUBLISHED   BY  THE 

AMERICAN    TILACT    SOCIETY, 

150    N  A  S  S  A  U  -  S  T  R  E  E  T  ,    NEW     YORK. 


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i 


CONTENTS. 


INTUODUCTION 

Directions  for  the  profitable  reading  of  the  following*  trea- 
tise,   5 

CHAPTER  I. 
Beep  solicitude  about  salvation  reasonable  and  necessar}!-,     13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Religious  impressions,  and  the   unspeakable  impoi-tance  of 
retaining  and  deepening  them, 23 

CHAPTER   III. 

On  the  importance   of  gaining  scriptural    knowledge,   and 
clear  views  of  divine  truth, 4G 

CHAPTER   IV. 
On  repentance, 77 

CHAPTER  V. 
On  faith, .        92 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Mistakes  into  which  inquirers  are  apt  to  fall,    .     .     .     .112 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Perplexities  which  are  often  felt  by  inquirers,     .     .     .      143 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Discouragements  which  present  themselves  at  the  commence 
ment  of  a  religious  course, 162 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Cautions, 181 

CHAPTER  X. 
Encouragements, 194 


INTRODUCTION, 


DIRECTIONS  FOU  THE  PROFITABLE  READINa 
OF  THE  FOLLOWINa  TREATISE. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  some  persons,  that  I 
should  give  directions  for  the  performance  of 
an  act  so  well  understood  as  the  perusal  of  a 
book  ;  and  especially  the  perusal  of  a  book  of 
so  simple  and  elementary  a  kind  as  this.  But 
the  fact  is,  that  multitudes  either  do  not  know, 
or  do  not  remember  at  the  time,  how  to  read 
to  advantagCj  and  therefore  profit  but  little  by 
what  they  read.  Besides,  simple  and  elemen- 
tary as  is  this  treatise,  it  is  on  a  subject  of  in- 
finite and  eternal  importance,  and  is  perused 
in  the  most  critical  season  of  a  man's  everlast- 
ing history;  when,  in  a  very  peculiar  sense, 
every  means  of  grace,  and  this  among  the  rest, 
will  be  either  a  savor  of  death  unto  death,  or 
of  life  unto  life,  to  the  reader.  Tremendous 
idea,  but  strictly  true. 

Keader,  whosoever  thou  art,  it  is  no  presump- 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

tuous  thought  of  the  author,  to  believe  that 
thou  wilt  remember  the  contents  of  this  small 
treatise  in  eternity,  either  with  pleasure  and 
gratitude  in  heaven,  or  with  remorse  and  de- 
spair in  hell.  Can  it  then  be  an  impertinently 
officious  act,  to  remind  thee  how  to  read  with 
advantage  what  I  have  written  ? 

1.  Take  it  with  you  into  your  closet^  I  mean 
your  place  of  retirement  for  prayer;  for  of 
course  you  have  such  a  place.  Prayer  is  the 
very  soul  of  all  religion,  and  privacy  is  the 
very  life  of  prayer  itself.  This  is  a  book  to 
be  read  when  you  are  alone ;  when  none  is 
near  but  God  and  your  conscience ;  when  you 
are  not  hindered  by  the  presence  of  a  fellow- 
creature  from  the  utmost  freedom  of  manner, 
thought,  and  feeling;  when  unobserved  by  any 
human  eye,  you  could  lay  down  the  book,  and 
meditate,  or  weep,  or  fall  upon  your  knees  to 
pray,  or  give  vent  to  your  feelings  in  short  and 
sudden  petitions  to  God.  I  charge  you  then  to 
reserve  the  volume  for  your  private  seasons  of 
devotion  and  thoughtfulness ;  look  not  into  it 
in  company,  except  it  be  the  company  of  a 
poor  trembling  and  anxious  inquirer  like  your- 
self.    ' 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

2.  Read  it  with  deep  seriousness.  Remember 
it  speaks  to  you  of  God,  of  eternity,  of  salvation, 
of  heaven,  and  of  hell.  Take  it  up  with  some- 
thing of  the  awe  "  that  warns  you  how  you  touch 
a  holy  thing."  It  meets  you  in  your  solicitude 
about  your  souFs  welfare,  it  meets  you  fleeing 
from  destruction,  escaping  for  your  life,  crying 
out,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  and  prof- 
fers its  assistance  to  guide  you  for  refuge  to 
the  hope  set  before  you  in  the  gospel.  It  is 
itself  serious  ;  its  author  is  serious  ;  it  is  on  a 
serious  subject,  and  demands  to  be  read  in  a 
most  devout  and  serious  mood.  Take  it  not 
up  lightly,  nor  read  it  lightly.  Command  away 
every'  other  subject,  and  endeavor  to  realize 
the  idea  that  God,  salvation,  and  eternity  are 
before  you,  and  that  you  are  actually  collecting 
the  ingredients  of  the  cup  of  salvation,  or  the 
wormwood  and  gall  to  imbitter  the  cup  of 
damnation. 

3.  Read  it  with  earnest  prayer.  It  can  do  you 
no  good  without  God^s  blessing  ;  nothing  short 
of  divine  grace  can  render  it  the  means  of 
instructing  your  mind  or  impressing  your  heart. 
It  will  convey  no  experimental  knowledge,  re- 
lieve no  anxiety,  dissipate  no  doubts,  afford 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

neither  peace  nor  sanctification,  if  God  do  not 
giye  his  Holy  Spirit.  And  if  you  would  have 
the  Spirit,  you  must  ask  for  it.  If,  therefore, 
you  wish  it  to  benefit  you,  do  not  read  another 
page  till  you  have  most  fervently,  as  well  as 
sincerely,  prayed  to  God  for  his  blessing  to 
i  ^company  the  perusal.  I  have  earnestly  pray- 
ed to  God  to  enable  me  to  write  it,  and  if  you 
as  earnestly  pray  to  him  to  enable  you  to  read 
it,  there  is  thanksgiving  in  store  for  us  both; 
for  usually  what  is  begun  in  prayer  ends  in 
ptaise. 

4.  Do  not  read  too  much  at  once.  Books  that 
are  intended  to  instruct  and  impress  should  be 
read  slowly.  Most  persons  read  too  much  at 
a  time.  Your  object  is  not  merely  to  read  this 
treatise  through,  but  so  to  read  it  as  to  profit 
by  it.*  Food  cannot  be  digested  well  if  too 
niuch  be  taken  at  a  time,  so  neither  can  know- 
ledge. 

5.  Meditate  on  what  you  read.  Meditation 
bears  the  same  office  in  the  mental  constitu- 
tion, as  digestion  does  in  our  corporeal  system. 
The  first  mental  exercise  is  attention,  the  next 
is  reflection.  If  we  would  gain  a  correct  notion 
of  an  object,  we  must  not  only  see  it,  but  bok 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

at  it;  and  so  also  if  we  would  gain  knowledge 
from  books,  we  must  not  only  see  the  matters 
treated  of,  but  look  steadily  at  them.  Nothing 
but  meditation  can  enable  us  to  understand  or 
feel.  In  reading  the  Scriptures  and  religious 
books,  we  are,  or  should  be,  reading  for  eter- 
nity. Salvation  depends  on  knowledge,  and 
knowledge  on  meditation.  At  almost  every 
step  of  our  progress  through  a  book  which  is 
intended  to  guide  us  to  salvation,  we  should 
pause  and  ask,  "Do  I  understand  this?^'  Our 
profiting  depends  not  on  the  quantity  read,  but 
what  we  understand  and  practise.  One  verse 
in  Scripture,  if  understood  and  duly  regarded, 
will  do  us  more  good  than  a  chapter,  or  even 
a  book,  read  through  in  haste  and  without 
reflection. 

6.  Read  regularly  through  in  order.  Do  not 
wander  about  from  one  part  to  another,  and  in 
your  eagerness  to  gain  relief,  pick  and  cull 
particular  portions  on  account  of  their  sup- 
posed suitableness  to  your  case.  It  is  all  suit- 
able, and  will  be  found  most  so  by  being  taken 
together  and  as  a  whole.  A  rambling  method 
of  reading,  whether  it  be  the  Scriptures  or 
other  books,  is  not  to  edification:  it  often  arises 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

from  levity  of  mind,  and  sometimes  from  impa- 
tience, both  of  which  are  states  very  unfriendly 
to  improvement.  Remember,  it  is  salvation 
you  are  in  quest  of,  an  object  of  such  transcen- 
dent importance  as  to  be  a  check  upon  all  vola- 
tility, and  of  such  value  as  to  encourage  the 
most  exemplary  patience. 

7.  Read  calmly.  You  are  anxious  to  obtain 
eternal  life;  you  are  eagerly  asking,  "What 
shall  I  do  to  be  saved  1"  But  still  you  must 
not  allow  your  solicitude  so  far  to  agitate  your 
mind  as  to  prevent  you  from  listening  atten- 
tively to  the  answer.  In  circumstances  of  great 
anxiety,  men  are  sometimes  so  much  under  the 
power  of  excited  feelings  that  the  judgment  is 
bewildered,  and  thus  they  are  not  only  pre- 
vented from  finding  out  what  is  best  to  be 
done,  but  from  seeing  it  when  it  is  laid  down 
by  another.  This  anxious  and  hurried  state  of 
mind  sometimes  appears  in  those  who  are  just 
awakened  to  a  concern  about  salvation ;  they 
are  restless  and  eager  to  gain  relief,  but  are 
defeated  in  their  object  by  their  very  solicitude 
to  obtain  it:  the  Scriptures  are  read,  sermons 
are  heard,  advice  of  friends  is  received  in  a 
confused  state  of  mind.     Guard  against  this, 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

and  endeavor  so  far  to  control  your  thoughts 
as  to  attend  to  the  counsels  and  cautions  which 
are  here  suggested. 

8.  I  very  earnestly  recommend  the  perusal  of  all 
those  passages  of  Scripture  and  chapters  to  which, 
for  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  have  referred  without 
quoting  the  words.  I  lay  great  stress  upon  this. 
Read  this  book  with  your  Bible  at  your  side, 
and  do  not  think  much  of  the  trouble  of  turning 
to  the  passages  referred  to.  If  unhappily  you 
should  consider  me,  or  my  little  volume,  as  a 
substitute  for  the  Bible,  instead  of  a  guide  to 
it,  I  have  done  you  an  injury,  or  rather,  you 
will  have  done  yourself  an  injury  by  thus  em- 
ploying _,  it.  "As  new-born  babes,''  says  the 
apostle,  "  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word, 
that  ye  may  grow  thereby.''  1  Peter,  2  :  2. 
And  as  those  infants  thrive  best  who  are  fed 
from  the  breast  of  their  mother,  so  those  con- 
verts grow  most  in  grace  who  are  most  devoted 
to  a  spiritual  perusal  of  the  Scriptures.  If 
therefore  I  stand  between  you  and  the  word  of 
God,  I  do  you  great  disservice ;  but  if  I  per- 
suade you  to  read  the  Scriptures,  I  greatly 
help  your  inquiries  after  salvation.  Perhaps, 
in  the  present  state  of  your  mind,  it  is  not  de- 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

sirable  to  begin  and  read  regularly  the  word 
of  God,  but  to  go  through  those  passages  which 
I  have  selected  and  recommended. 

And  now  may  God,  of  his  great  goodness 
and  sovereign  grace,  deign  to  bless  the  perusal 
of  this  book  to  many  immortal  souls,  by  mak- 
ing it,  however  humble  the  production,  the 
means  of  conducting  them  into  the  path  of 
life. 


or  TBE  ' 


fuNIVEHSITY; 
ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 


CHAPTER   I. 

DEEP    SOLICITUDE    ABOUT    SALVATION    REA- 
SONABLE AND  NECESSARY. 

Reader,  you  have  lately  been  awakened  by 
the  mercy  of  God,  to  ask,  with  some  degree  of 
anxiety,  that  momentous  question,  "  What  shall 
I  do  to  he  saved  T^  No  wonder  you  should  be 
anxious  ;  the  wonder  is,  that  you  were  not  con- 
cerned about  this  matter  before,  that  you  are 
not  more  deeply  solicitous  now,  and  that  all 
who  possess  the  word  of  God  do  not  sympa- 
thize with  you  in  this  anxiety.  Every  thing 
justifies  solicitude  and  condemns  indifference. 
Unconcern  about  the  soul,  indifference  to  sal- 
vation, is  a  most  irrational  as  well  as  a  most 
guilty  state  of  mind.  The  wildest  enthusiasm 
on  the  subject  of  religion  is  less  surprising  and 


14  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUlftER. 

unreasonable  than  absolute  carelessness,  as  will 
appear  from  the  following  considerations  : 

1.  You  are  an  immortal  creature,  a  being  born 
for  eternity  J  a  creature  that  wiU  never  go  out  of 
existence.  Millions  of  ages,  as  numerous  as  the 
sands  upon  the  shore,  and  the  drops  of  the  ocean, 
and  the  leaves  of  all  the  forests  on  the  globe, 
will  not  shorten  the  duration  of  your  being  ; 
<3ternity,  vast  eternity,  incomprehensible  eter- 
nity, is  before  you.  Every  day  brings  you 
nearer  to  everlasting  torments  or  felicity.  You 
may  die  any  moment,  and  you  are  as  near  to 
heaven  or  hell  as  you  are  to  death.  No  won- 
der you  are  asking,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?'' 

2.  But  the  reasonableness  of  this  anxiety  ap- 
pears, if  you  add  to  this  consideration  that  you  are 
a  sinner.  You  have  broken  God's  law;  you 
have  rebelled  against  his  authority  ;  you  have 
acted  as  an  enemy  to  him,  and  made  him  your 
enemy.  If  you  had  committed  only  one  single 
act  of  transgression,  your  situation  would  be 
alarming.  One  sin  would  have  subjected  you 
to  the  sentence  of  his  law,  and  exposed  you  to 
his  displeasure :  but  you  have  committed  sins 
more  in  number  and  greater  in  magnitude  than 


ANXIETY  REASONABLE.'  15 

you  know  or  can  conceive  of.  Your  whole  life 
has  been  one  continued  course  of  sin ;  you  have, 
as  relates  to  God,  done  nothing  but  sin.  Your 
transgressions  have  sent  up  to  heaven  a  cry  for 
vengeance.  You  are  actually  under  the  curse 
of  the  Almighty. 

3.  Consider  what  the  loss  of  tJie  soul  includes. 
The  loss  of  the  soul  is  the  loss  of  every  thing 
dear  to  man  as  an  immortal  creature  :  it  is  the 
loss  of  heaven,  with  all  its  honors,  felicities, 
and  glories  ;  it  is  the  loss  of  God^s  favor,  which 
is  the  life  of  all  rational  creatures ;  it  is  the 
loss  of  every  thing  that  can  contribute  to  our 
happiness ;  and  it  is  the  loss  of  hope,  the  last 
refuge  of  the  wretched.  The  loss  of  the  soul 
includes  in  it  all  that  is  contained  in  that  dread- 
ful word.  Hell :  it  is  the  eternal  endurance  of 
the  wrath  of  God ;  it  is  the  lighting  down  of 
the  curse  of  the  Almighty  upon  the  human 
spirit ;  or  rather,  it  is  the  falling  of  the  human 
spirit  into  that  curse,  as  into  a  lake  that  burn- 
eth  with  fire  and  brimstone.  How  true  as 
well  as  solemn  are  the  words  of  Christ,  "  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  lose  his  own  soul ;  or  what  shall  a  man  give 
in  exchange  for  his  soul?'^     All  the  tears  that 


16  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRED. 

ever  have  been  or  ever  will  be  shed  on  the  face 
of  the  earth ;  all  the  groans  that  ever  have  been 
or  ever  will  be  uttered ;  all  the  anguish  that 
ever  has  been  or  ever  will  be  endured  by  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  through  all  the 
ages  of  time,  do  not  make  up  an  equal  amount 
of  misery  to  that  which  is  included  in  the  loss 
of  one  human  soul.  Justly,  therefore,  do  you 
say,  who  are  exposed  to  this  misery,  "  What 
shall  I  do  to  he  saved  T^ 

4.  This  solicitude  is  reasonable,  if  we  consider 
that  the  eternal  loss  of  the  soul  is  not  a  rare,  hut  a 
very  common  occurrence.  It  is  so  tremendous  a 
catastrophe,  that  if  it  happened  only  once  in  a 
year,  or  once  in  a  century,  so  as  to  render  it 
barely  possible  that  it  should  happen  to  you,  it 
would  be  unpardonable  carelessness  not  to  feel 
some  solicitude  about  the  matter :  how  much 
more  then,  when,  alas,  it  is  every  day  occur- 
ring? So  far  from  its  being  a  rare  thing  for 
men  to  go  to  hell,  it  is  a  much  rarer  thing  for 
them  to  go  to  heaven.  Our  Lord  tells  us  that 
the  road  to  destruction  is  thronged,  while  the 
way  to  life  is  travelled  by  few.  Hell  opens  its 
mouth  wide,  and  swallows  up  multitudes  in 
perdition.     How  alarming  is  the  idea,  and  how 


ANXIETY  REASONABLE.  17 

probable  the  fact,  that  you  may  be  among  this 
number.  Some  that  read  these  pages  will  very 
likely  spend  their  eternity  with  lost  souls :  it 
is  therefore  your  wisdom,  as  well  as  your  duty, 
to  cherish  the  anxiety  which  says,  "  What  shall 
I  do  to  he  saved  ?" 

5.  Salvation  is  possible :  if  it  were  not,  it  would 
be  useless  to  be  anxious  about  it.  It  would  be 
cruel,  and  only  tormenting  you  before  your 
time,  to  encourage  an  anxiety  which  could 
never  be  relieved  by  the  possession  of  the  ob- 
ject which  excites  it.  "Who,  if  such  a  thing 
were  possible,  would  say  any  thing  to  "lost 
souls  in  prison,"  by  way  of  encouraging  in  them 
a  solicitude  to  be  saved  ?  But  your  case  is  not 
hopeless  :  you  may  be  saved  ;  you  are  invited 
to  be  saved.  Christ  has  died  for  your  salva- 
tion, and  God  waits  to  save  you;  all  the  op- 
portunities and  advantages  and  helps  and  en- 
couragements to  salvation  are  around  you ;  the 
blessing  is  within  your  reach;  it  is  brought 
near  to  you ;  and  it  will  be  your  own  fault  if 
you  do  not  possess  it.  Your  solicitude  is  not 
therefore  directed  to  an  unattainable  object. 

6.  Salvation  has  been  obtained  by  multitudes j 
and  why  may  it  not  be  obtained  by  you?    Millions 

Inquirer.  2 


18  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

in  heaven  aro  already  saved;  myriads  more 
are  on  the  road  to  salvation.  God  is  still  as 
"willing,  and  Christ  is  still  as  able  to  save  you 
as  he  was  them;  why  then  should  not  you  be 
saved  ? 

7.  And  then^  what  a  hkssing  is  Salvation — a 
blessing  that  includes  all  the  riches  of  grace, 
and  all  the  greater  riches  of  glory;  deliverance 
from  sin,  death,  and  hell ;  the  possession  of 
pardon,  peace,  holiness,  and  heaven ;  a  blessing, 
in  short,  immense,  infinite,  everlasting — which 
occupied  the  mind  of  Deity  from  eternity,  was 
procured  by  the  Son  of  God  upon  the  cross,  and 
which  will  fill  eternity  with  its  happiness.  0, 
how  little,  how  insignificant,  how  contemptible 
is  the  highest  object  of  human  ambition,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  lower  matters  of  men's  desires, 
compared  with  salvation.  Riches,  rank,  fame, 
honors,  are  but  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance 
when  compared  with  the  salvation  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,  with  eternal  glory.  Who  that 
pretends  to  the  least  regard  to  his  own  happi- 
ness would  not  say,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?" 

8.  The  circumstances  in  which  you  are  placed 
for  obtaining  this  blessing,  are  partly  favorable  and 


ANXIETY  REASONABLE.  19 

partly  unfavorable.  The  love  of  God  is  infinite ; 
the  merit  of  Christ  is  infinite ;  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  infinite ;  Jehovah  is  willing  and 
waiting  to  save  you ;  Christ  invites ;  all  things 
are  ready,  and  the  grace  of  God  offered  for 
your  conversion.  On  the  other  hand  you  have 
a  corrupt  heart,  and  are  placed  in  a  world 
where  every  thing  seems  to  combine  to  draw 
off  your  attention  from  salvation,  and  to  cause 
you  to  neglect  it.  Satan  is  busy  to  blind  your 
mind,  the  world  to  fill  your  imagination  and 
heart  with  other  objects,  so  that  even  the  "  right- 
eous are  scarcely  saved."  You  cannot  quit  the 
world  and  go  into  monasteries  and  convents, 
but  must  seek  the  salvation  of  your  soul  amidst 
the  engrossing  cares  of  this  busy  and  trouble- 
some world,  where  anxiety  about  the  body  is  so 
liable  to  put  away  anxiety  about  the  soul,  and 
things  seen  and  temporal  are  likely  to  with- 
draw the  attention  from  things  that  are  unseen 
and  eternal.  0,  how  difficult  is  it  to  pay  just 
enough  regard  to  present  things,  and  yet  not 
too  much.  How  difficult  to  attend  properly  to 
the  affairs  both  of  earth  and  heaven;  to  be 
busy  for  two  worlds  at  once.  These  circum- 
stances may  well  excite  your  solicitude. 


20  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIREH. 

Anxiety,  then,  deep  anxiety  about  salvation, 
is  the  most  reasonable  thing  in  the  world;  and 
we  feel  almost  ready  to  ask,  Can  that  man  have 
a  soul,  or  know  that  he  has  one,  who  is  care- 
less about  its  eternal  happiness  ?  Is  he  a  man 
or  a  brute?  Is  he  in  the  exercise  of  his  reason, 
or  is  he  a  maniac?  Ever  walking  on  the  edge 
of  the  precipice  that  hangs  over  the  bottomless 
pit,  and  not  anxious  about  salvation!  0  fatal, 
awful,  destructive  indifference  1  Cherish  then 
your  solicitude.  You  must  be  anxious,  you 
ought  to  be  so,  you  cannot  he  saved  without  ity 
for  no  man  ever  was,  or  ever  will  be.  The 
salvation  of  a  lost  soul  is  such  a  stupendous 
deliverance,  such  an  inj&nitely  momentous  con- 
cern, that  it  is  impossible,  in  the  very  nature 
of  things,  it  should  be  bestowed  on  any  one 
who  is  not  in  earnest  to  obtain  it.  This  iy  the 
very  end  of  your  existence,  the  purpose  for 
which  God  created  you.  Apart  from  this,  you 
are  an  enigma  in  creation,  a  mystery  in  nature. 
"Why  has  God  given  you  faculties  which  seem 
to  point  to  eternity,  and  desires  which  go  for- 
ward to  it,  if  he  has  not  destined  you  for  it? 
Eternal  salvation  is  the  great  end  of  life  : 
get  what  you  will,  if  you  lose  this  you  have 


ANXIETT  REASONABLE.  21 

LOST  THE  PURPOSE    OP  EXISTENCE.      Could  yOU 

obtain  all  the  wealth  of  the  globe ;  could  you 
rise  to  the  possession  of  universal  empire; 
could  you  by  the  most  splendid  discoveries  in 
science,  or  the  most  useful  inventions  in  art,  or 
the  most  magnificent  achievements  in  litera- 
ture, fill  the  earth  with  the  fame  of  your  ex 
ploits,  and  send  down  your  name  with  honoi 
to  the  latest  ages  of  time,  still,  if  you  lost  the 
salvation  of  your  soul,  you  would  have  lived  in 
vain.  Whatever  you  may  gain,  life  will  be  a 
lost  adventure,  if  you  do  not  gain  salvation. 
The  condition  of  the  poorest  creature  that  ever 
yet  obtained,  though  he  had  but  a  mere  glim- 
mering of  intellect,  just  enough  of  understand- 
ing to  apprehend  the  nature  of  repentance ; 
although  he  lived  out  his  days  amidst  the 
squalid  poverty  and  repulsive  scenes  of  a  hovel 
or  a  workhouse;  although  he  was  unknown 
even  among  the  poor ;  and  although  when  he 
died  he  was  buried  in  the  pauperis  grave  on 
which  no  tear  was  ever  shed — the  condition  of 
even  this  poor  outcast  of  society  is  infinitely 
to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  most  successful 
merchant,  the  greatest  conqueror,  the  profound- 
est  philosopher,  or  the  sublimest  poet  that  ever 


?2  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

existed,  if  he  lived  and  died  without  salvation. 
The  lowest  place  in  heaven  is  infinitely  to  be 
preferred  to  the  highest  place  on  earth.  Go 
on  then  to  urge  the  question,  "What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?^'  Let  no  one  turn  off  your  atten- 
tion from  this  matter.  As  long  as  you  covet 
this,  your  eye  and  heart  and  hope  are  fixed  on 
the  sublimest  object  in  the  universe ;  and  when 
officious  but  ignorant  friends  would  persuade 
you  that  you  are  too  anxious,  point  them  to 
the  bottomless  pit,  and  ask  them  if  any  one 
can  be  too  anxious  to  escape  its  torments. 
Point  them  to  heaven,  and  ask  them  if  any  one 
can  be  too  anxious  to  obtain  its  glories.  Point 
them  to  eternity,  and  ask  them  if  any  one  can 
be  too  anxious  to  secure  immortal  life.  Point 
them  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  ask  them  if 
any  one  can  be  too  anxious  to  secure  the  object 
for  which  he  died. 


RELIG-IOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  23 


CHAPTER  II. 

KELiaiOUS     IMPRESSIONS —THE     UNSPEAK- 
ABLE    IMPORTANCE     OF     RETAINING    AND 
*    DEEPENINa    THEM. 

Awakened  and  anxious  sinner,  your  present 
situation  is  a  most  momentous  one.  You  are 
in  the  crisis  of  your  religious  history,  and  of 
your  eternal  destiny.  No  tongue  can  tell,  no 
pen  describe  the  importance  of  your  present 
circumstances.  You  are  just  arousing  from 
your  long  slumber  of  sin  and  spiritual  death, 
and  will  now  either  rise  up  and  run  the  race 
that  is  set  before  you,  or  will  soon  sink  back 
again,  as  those  are  likely  to  do  who  are  a  little 
disturbed,  in  a  deeper  sleep  than  ever.  The 
Spirit  of  God  is  striving  with  you,  and  you  will 
yield  to  his  suggestions,  and  give  yourself  up 
to  be  led  by  his  gracious  influence,  or  you  will 
grieve  him  by  resistance  and  neglect,  and  com- 
pel him  to  depart.  God  is  drawing  you  with 
the  cords  of  love ;  Christ  is  saying,  "  Behold,  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock."    The  Spirit  ia 


24  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

striying  with  you.  Yield  to  these  silken  bands ; 
open  to  that  gracious  Saviour;  grieve  not, 
quench  not  the  motions  of  that  divine  Spirit. 
Salvation  is  come  near,  and  heaven  is  open  to 
your  soul.  Remember,  you  may  quench  the 
Spirit  not  only  by  direct  resistance,  but  by 
careless  neglect.  Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  bei 
insensible  to  your  situation.  A  single  convic- 
tion ought  not  to  be  treated  with  indifference, 
nor  a  single  impression  to  be  overlooked.  You 
cannot  long  remain  as  you  now  are ;  your  con- 
victions will  soon  end  either  in  conversion,  or 
in  greater  indifference:  like  the  blossoms  of 
spring,  they  will  soon  set  in  fruit,  or  fall  to 
the  ground.  Should  your  present  solicitude 
diminish,  it  will  soon  subside  altogether ;  and 
if  it  subside,  it  may  probably  never  be  revived. 
Oh  that  you  would  now  yield  your  heart  to 
God  by  repentance  for  sin  and  saving  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Each  of  these  cardinal 
Christian  graces  will  be  distinctly  treated  here- 
after. I  am  now  to  speak  of  the  danger  of 
trifling  with  convictions  of  sin,  and  religious 
impressions.  If  you  would  not  lose  your  present 
feelings,  take  the  following  advice : 

1.  Admit  the  possibility  of  losing  them.     Do 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  25 

not  presume  that  it  is  impossible  for  you  to 
relapse  into  indifference.  Let  there  be  no  ap- 
proach to  the  vain-glorious,  self-confident  tem- 
per of  the  apostle  Peter,  who  said.  Though  all 
should  forsake  thee,  yet  will  not  I.  Nothing 
is  more  common  than  mere  transient  alarm. 
The  character  of  Pliable,  in  the  Pilgrim^s  Prog- 
ress, is  one  of  every  day  occurrence.  There 
are  very  few  that  hear  the  gospel  who  are  not 
at  one  time  or  other  the  subject  of  religious 
impressions.  Multitudes  who  are  lifting  up 
their  eyes  in  torment,  are  looking  back  upon 
lost  impressions.  Do  not  conclude  that  be- 
cause you  are  now  concerned  about  salvation 
you  will  be  saved.  0,  no.  Many  that  will 
read  these  pages  under  the  deepest  solicitude, 
will  add  to  the  number  of  those  who  perish. 
Self-confidence  will  be  sure  to  end  in  confusion; 
while  self-diffidence  is  the  way  to  stand. 

2.  Dread  the  idea  of  relapsing  into  indiffer- 
ence. Let  the  bare  apprehension  make  you 
tremble.  Exclaim  in  an  almost  agony  of  spirit, 
"  Oh,  if  I  should  prove  treacherous  to  my  own 
soul ;  if  my  interest  in  religion  should  be  as  the 
morning  cloud  or  early  dew ;  if  this  heart  of 
mine  should  become  indifferent;  if  my  soul 


26  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

should  go  back  from  the  very  gates  of  the 
kingdom  of  God;  if  my  friends  or  minister 
should  meet  me  in  a  retreating  course.  Dread- 
ful change!  May  God  in  mercy  prevent  it." 
My  dear  reader,  let  these  be  your  reflections. 
Let  death  seem  to  you  rather  to  be  coveted 
than  returning  to  the  follies  and  sins  of  the 
world;  let  it  be  your  feeling  that  you  would 
rather  go  forward  in  the  pursuit  of  salvation, 
though  you  were  to  die  the  moment  your  sins 
were  pardoned,  than  gain  long  life  and  the 
whole  world  by  going  back  to  indifference. 
Next  to  the  loss  of  the  soul,  there  is  nothing 
so  dreadful  in  itself,  nor  so  much  to  be  dreaded, 
as  the  loss  of  religious  impressions ;  and  the 
latter  leads  on  to  the  former. 

3.  Make  it  a  subject  of  devout  and  earnest 
prayer,  that  God  would  render  your  impressions 
permanent  by  the  effectual  aid  of  his  Holy 
Spirit.  Reader,  here  learn  these  two  lessons, 
that  God  alone  can  seal  these  emotions  upon 
your  heart ;  and  that  he  can  be  expected  to  do 
it  only  in  answer  to  prayer.  It  is  of  infinite 
consequence  that  you  should  deeply  ponder  this 
great  truth,  that  all  true  piety  in  the  heart  of 
man  is  the  work  of  God's  Spirit.     Do  not  read 


RELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  27 

anotlier  line  till  you  have  well  weighed  that 
sentiment,  and  have  so  wrought  it  into  your 
heart  as  to  make  it  become  a  principle  of  action, 
a  rule  of  conduct.  Every  conviction  will  be 
extinguished,  every  impression  will  be  effaced, 
unless  God  himself,  by  his  own  sovereign  and 
efficacious  grace,  render  them  permanent.  If 
God  do  not  put  forth  his  power,  your  state  is 
hopeless.  You  may  as  rationally  expect  light 
without  the  sun,  as  piety  without  God.  Not  a 
single  really  holy  feeling  will  ever  come  into 
the  mind,  or  be  kept  there,  but  by  God.  Hence, 
the  object  and  the  use  of  prayer  are  to  obtain 
this  gracious  influence.  Prayer  is  the  first  step 
in  the  divine  life,  prayer  the  second,  prayer  the 
third,  and  indeed  it  is  necessary  through  the 
whole  Christian  course.  Awakened  sinner,  you 
must  pray.  You  must  find  opportunity  to  be 
alone  ;  you  must  cry  mightily  unto  God ;  you 
must  implore  his  aid  ;  you  must  give  up  a  por- 
tion of  your  sleep,  if  you  can  command  no  time 
in  the  day  for  prayer.  In  one  sense  you  should 
pray  always.  The  spirit  of  prayer  should  dwell 
in  you  and  never  depart,  and  be  continually 
leading  you  to  ejaculatory  petitions,  in  the  house 
and  by  the  way,  upon  your  bed,  and  in  your 


28  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

occupations ;  and  this  should  be  tlie  subject  of 
your  petitions  :  that  your  heart  may  be  renew- 
ed,  your  eyes  spiritually  enlightened ;  that  you 
may  renounce  your  own  righteousness,  and  trust 
alone  in  the  atoning  blood  of  a  crucified  Re- 
deemer. You  may  read  books,  consult  friends, 
hear  sermons,  make  resolutions ;  but  books, 
friends,  sermons,  resolutions,  will  all  fail,  if 
God  do  not  give  his  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  very 
common  to  trust  too  much  to  means,  and  too 
little  to  God.  If  you  will  not,  or  even  if  you 
suppose  you  cannot,  find  time  for  private  prayer, 
you  may  as  well  give  up  the  pursuit  of  salva- 
tion, for  you  cannot  be  saved  without  it. 

4.  If  you  would  retain  your  impressions,  and 
persevere  in  the  pursuit  of  salvation,  you  must 
at  once  determine  to  give  up  whatever  you  know 
to  he  sinful  in  your  conduct,  and  you  must  also 
he  very  watchful  against  sin.  Thus  runs  the  di- 
rection of  the  word  of  God  :  "  Seek  the  Lord 
while  he  may  be  found,  call  upon  him  while  he 
is  near  :  let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man*  his  thoughts  ;  and  let  him  re- 
turn unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy 
upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abun- 
dantly pardon."    Isaiah  55  : 6,  7.    To  the  sam? 


RELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  29 

effect  is  the  language  of  one  of'  Job^s  friends : 
"If  thou  prepare  thy  heart  and  stretch  out 
thy  hands  towards  him,  if  iniquity  be  in  thy 
hand,  put  it  away."  Job  11 :  13,  14.  It  is 
right  for  you  at  once  to  know,  that  the  salva- 
tion which  is  in  Christ  is  a  deliverance  from 
sin.  "  Thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he 
shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins,"  said  the 
angel  to  Joseph,  when  he  announced  the  ap- 
proaching nativity  of  Christ.  "Who  gave 
himself  for  us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from 
all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  pe- 
culiar people,  zealous  of  good  works."  Titus 
2:14. 

It  is  of  immense  consequence  that  you  should 
at  once  have  a  distinct  idea  that  the  salvation 
you  would  seek  is  a  holy  calling.  Whatever  is 
sinful  in  your  temper,  such  as  malice,  revenge, 
violent  passions  ;  or  whatever  is  sinful  in  your 
words,  in  the  way  of  falsehood,  railing,  back- 
biting ;  or  whatever  is  sinful  in  your  practice, 
in  the  way  of  Sabbath-breaking,  injustice,  un- 
kindness,  undutifulness  to  parents  or  masters, 
must  immediately  be  given  up  without  hesita- 
tion, reluctance,  or  reserve.  The  retaining  of 
one  single  sin  which  you  know  to  be  such,  will 


30  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIUER. 

soon  stifle  your  convictions,  and  efface  all  your 
impressions.  If  you  are  not  willing  to  give  up 
your  sins,  it  is  not  salvation  you  are  seeking. 
You  may  suppose  you  wish  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian, and  read  the  Bible,  and  offer  up  prayers, 
and  regularly  hear  sermons,  and  wonder  that 
you  do  not  get  religion ;  but  perhaps  the  reason 
is,  you  are  not  willing  to  give  up  your  sins,  your 
worldly-mindedness,  your  carnal  pleasures,  or 
some  practice  that  you  find  to  be  gainful  or 
agreeable,  although  you  know  it  to  be  sinful. 
Well  then,  you  cannot  get  on  in  this  state  of 
mind.  Do,  do  therefore  look  carefully  within, 
examine  faithfully  your  conduct,  and  see  wheth- 
er there  be  in  you  any  thing  which  you  know  to 
be  wrong,  but  which  you  are  nevertheless  un- 
willing to  abandon ;  if  there  is,  it  is  vain  for 
you  to  think  of  retaining  your  impressions  and 
becoming  a  Christian.  And  let  me  also  remind 
you,  that  this  willingness  to  give  up  your  sins 
must  be  immediate ;  you  must  desire  and  pur- 
pose an  instant  abandonment  of  sin.  Augus- 
tine confesses  that  he  used  to  pray  to  God  to 
convert  him,  but  with  this  reservation,  "  Lord, 
not  yet."  He  wished  to  live  a  little  longer  in 
the  gratification  of  his  sinful  lusts,  before  he 


RELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  31 

was  completely  turned  to  the  Lord  from  his  evil 
ways.  Thus  there  are  some  who  are,  or  profess 
to  be,  desirous  to  be  converted  at  some  time  or 
other,  and  who  are  purposing  to  give  up  their 
sins,  but  "  not  yet."  There  is  a  mixture  of  feel- 
ing, a  concern  to  be  saved,  but  a  lingering  love 
of  some  sin,  and  the  matter  is  settled  by  a  reso- 
lution to  sacrifice  the  sin  at  some  future  time. 
Awful  delusion !  God  says,  JVow  ;  and  you  must 
reply.  Yes,  Lord,  now.  I  would  now  be  con- 
verted from  this  and  every  sin. 

And  not  only  must  you  be  willing  to  give  up 
sin,  but  you  must  watch  most  carefully  against  it. 
You  are  in  a  most  critical  state  of  mind,  and 
a  very  small  indulgence  of  sin  may  put  away 
all  your  serious  impressions.  Even  the  giving 
way  to  a  bad  temper  may  do  irreparable  mis- 
chief to  your  soul,  and  hinder  your  pursuit  of 
eternal  life.  You  ought  especially  to  watch 
against  your  besetting  sin,  whatever  it  be, 
according  to  the  exhortation  of  the  apostle, 
Heb.  12:1.  At  the  same  time  I  would  caution 
you  against  being  discouraged  by  occasional 
failures  ;  you  are  not  to  throw  all  up  in  despair 
because  you  are  occasionally  overcome  by  temp- 
tation.    Instances  of  this  kind  should  make 


32  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

you  more  watchful,  but  not  despairing.    I  shall 
say  more  on  this  subject  hereafter. 

5.  It  is  of  great  consequence  for  you  to  sep- 
arate yourself  from  irreligious  or  worldly  covi- 
panions.  It  will  require  some  courage,  and  call 
for  some  painful  self-denial,  to  retire  from  the 
society  of  those  with  whom  you  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  associating ;  but  if  they  are  ungodly 
persons,  it  must  be  done.  Read  what  God  and 
good  men  have  said  on  this  subject.  Psalm 
119  :  63  ;  Prov.  1  :  11-16  ;  2  :  12-19  ;  29  :  6  ; 
13  :  20  ;  1  Cor.  15  :  33  ;  2  Cor.  6  :  14, 18.  Com- 
ply with  these  admonitions,  and  quit  the  society 
of  all  who  think  lightly  of  religion.  Their  com- 
pany and  conversation  will  soon  draw  you  aside 
from  the  ways  of  piety.  Their  levity,  their 
indifference,  their  neglect  of  salvation,  will  be 
destruction  to  all  your  religious  feelings.  Even 
Christians  of  long  standing  and  deeply  rooted 
piety  find  such  society  very  unfriendly  to  their 
religion,  and  avoid  it  as  much  as  possible ;  how 
much  more  dangerous  will  it  be  to  you.  Even 
if  such  companions  do  not  attempt  to  laugh  or 
reason  you  out  of  your  concern  for  your  soul — 
which,  however,  they  will  be  almost  sure  to  do, 
and  never  cease  till  they  have  succeeded — their 


RELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  33 

very  conyersation  and  general  disposition  will 
blast  every  tender  emotion,  as  an  east  wind 
does  the  blossoms  of  spring.  You  must  then- 
give  up  either  your  sinful  associates,  or  your 
salvation  ;  for  if  you  cannot,  or  rather  will  not, 
break  off  from  such  companions  as  are  opposed 
to  religion,  you  may  as  well  relinquish  all  hope 
of  eternal  life,  since  true  piety  and  communion 
with  the  ungodly  are  utterly  incompatible  with 
each  other.  Is  there  any  companion  on  earth 
whose  friendship  you  prefer  to  salvation,  and 
whose  loss  you  dread  more  than  damnation? 

6.  It  is  transcendently  important  that  you 
should  use  all  those  scriptural  rrieans  which  are 
calculated  and  intended  to  keep  up  a  due  sense 
of  religion  in  the  mind.  These  you  must  im- 
mediately and  most  earnestly  employ :  no  time 
is  to  be  lost,  no  labor  is  to  be  spared,  no  sacri- 
fice is  to  be  grudged.  Your  soul  and  all  her 
eternal  interests  are  at  stake.  Hell  is  to  be 
escaped,  heaven  is  to  be  sought,  Satan  is  to  be 
conquered,  salvation  is  to  be  obtained.  Your 
enemies  are  numerous  and  mighty ;  your  diffi- 
culties are  immense,  though  not  insurmountable. 
Every  energy  must  be  roused,  every  exertion 
must  be  made,  every  help  called  in,  every  law- 
inquirer.  3 


34  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

ful  means  employed.  Read  the  following  pas- 
sages of  God^s  word,  and  see  if  religion  be  a 
light  and  easy  work  :  "  Seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness."  Matt.  6  :  83. 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ;  for  many, 
I  say,  will  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be 
able."  Luke  13:24.  ''Labor  for  the  meat 
that  endureth  to  eternal  life."  John  6  :  27. 
"Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  lay  hold  of 
eternal  life."  1  Tim.  6  :  12.  **  Whosoever  will 
come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take 
up  his  cross,  and  follow  me."  Mark  8  :  34. 
What  metaphors  1  What  language !  We  might 
almost  feel  prompted  to  ask.  Who  then  can  be 
saved,  if  such  anxiety,  such  effort,  be  necessary?" 
Even  the  righteous  are  scarcely  saved.  If  you 
do  not,  like  David,  seek  the  favor  of  God  with 
your  whole  heart,  you  will  never  have  it.  You 
may  more  rationally  think  to  reach  the  top  of 
the  highest  mountain  on  earth  without  labor, 
than  imagine  you  can  reach  heaven  without 
effort.  If  you  suppose  a  few  wishes  or  vague 
endeavors  will  do  while  you  withhold  your 
heart  from  God,  you  mistake,  and  the  sooner 
you  are  undeceived  the  better.  But  I  will  now 
specify  some  of  the  means  you  should  use. 


RELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  35 

Immediately  commence  the  devout  and  dili- 
gent perusal  of  the  Scriptures.  "  As  new-born 
babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that 
ye  may  grow  thereby."  1  Peter,  2:1.  The 
Bible  is  the  food  of  the  soul,  even  as  the  moth- 
er's milk  is  for  the  nourishment  of  the  child ; 
and  you  may  as  easily  believe  that  the  infant 
will  grow  without  food,  as  that  you  will  grow 
in  knowledge  or  grace  without  the  Scriptures. 
Read  both  for  instruction  and  for  impression , 
read  attentively  and  with  meditation;  pause 
and  ponder  as  you  go  along.  Neglect  not  the 
book  of  God  for  the  books  of  men ;  the  latter 
may  be  read  as  the  interpreters,  but  not  as  the 
substitutes  of  the  former.  If  you  do  not  find 
the  Bible  so  interesting  to  you  at  first  as  you 
expected  and  wished,  still  go  on ;  it  will  grow 
upon  acquaintance.  Nothing  is  so  likely  to 
keep  up  and  to  deepen  religious  impressions  as 
the  serious  perusal  of  the  Scriptures ;  they  are 
the  very  element  of  devotion.  Of  two  inquir- 
ers after  salvation,  he  will  be  most  likely  to 
persevere  and  gain  the  crown  who  is  most  dili- 
gent in  reading  the  word  of  God.  Do  not  be 
disheartened  by  finding  much  that  you  cannot 
at  present  understand ;  there  is  much  that  you 


36  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

can  understand.  Read  in  course,  ancL  instead 
of  beginning  the  Bible,  and  going  regularly 
through  it,  select  perhaps  the  Psalms,  the  gos- 
pels, or  the  epistles,  and  make  these  the  first 
portion  you  attend  to. 

Attend  with  regularity  and  seriousness  upon 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Sermons  are  inval- 
uable helps  to  the  anxious  inquirer.  Hear  the 
word  preached  with  a  deep  conviction  that  it 
v^ill  do  you  no  good  but  as  God  blesses  it, 
and  therefore  look  above  the  minister  to  God. 
Pray  before  you  go  to  hear  sermons;  pray, 
while  you  hear;  and  pray  after  you  have  heard. 
Go  from  the  closet  of  private  prayer  to  the 
place  of  public  worship,  and  from  the  place  of 
public  worship  back  again  to  prayer.  Apply 
the  word  as  you  hear  it  to  yourself;  hear  with 
attention,  hear  as  for  your  life,  hear  as  for  sal- 
vation. Avoid  a  light  and  careless  way  of 
attending  upon  the  means  of  grace.  Grow  not 
sinfully  familiar  with  sacred  things.  Avoid 
general  conversation  after  sermons;  and  gratify 
not  those  evil  spirits  who  desire  to  steal  away 
the  good  seed  of  the  word  from  the  hearts  in 
which  it  is  sown. 

Attend  meetings  for  social  prayer.    The  pray- 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIOJNS.  37 

ers  of  good  men  not  only  bring  down  blessings 
from  God,  but  breathe  the  spirit  of  true  piety. 
The  prayer-meeting  is  an  atmosphere  of  devo- 
tion.  Inquirer,  frequent  prayer-meetings,  then ; 
it  is  there  the  solemn  impressions  of  sacred 
things  are  strengthened.  You  are  there  pray- 
ed with,  and  prayed  for  ;  you  there  learn 
what  advanced  Christians  feel  and  desire,  and 
their  prayers  are  some  of  the  best  instructions 
you  can  receive ;  there  you  may  find  your  own 
heart  knit  together  in  love  with  the  people  of 
God. 

You  should  seek  the  instructions  and  coun- 
sels of  some  pious  friend^  with  whom  you  should 
be  free  and  full  in  laying  open  the  state  of  your 
mind.  Frequent  the  company  of  the  righteous, 
and  at  once  identify  yourself  with  them.  You 
must  not  be  ashamed  to  be  seen  with  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  but  be  willing  to  let  your  attach- 
ment to  his  cause,  and  your  adherence  to  his 
people,  be  openly  known.  Many  persons  wish  to 
come  and  make  secret  peace  with  God,  because 
,  fear,  or  pride,  or  interest  remonstrates  against 
an  open  admission  of  his  claims.  They  keep 
their  convictions  to  themselves,  and  hence  these 
sometimes  soon  die  away  for  want  of  support. 


38  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

But  it  is  especially  desirable  that  you  should 
make  known  your  mind  to  your  minister.  Go 
without  delay  to  him.  Perhaps  he  has  meet- 
ings for  inquirers,  and  even  if  he  has  not,  he 
will  be  glad  to  hear  your  account  of  yourself, 
and  tenderly  sympathize  with  you  under  your 
anxieties.  Be  not  afraid  to  go  to  him ;  if  you 
are  timid  and  unable  to  say  much,  he  will  under- 
stand your  broken  hints,  kindly  elicit  your  sen- 
timents and  feelings,  and  give  you  suitable  in- 
structions and  encouragement.  One  half  hour's 
conversation  with  a  skilful  physician  of  souls 
will  often  do  more  to  assist  you  in  gaining  the 
light  you  particularly  need,  than  the  reading 
of  many  books,  and  the  hearing  of  many  ser- 
mons. 

Remember,  however,  after  all  there  is  a  dan- 
ger of  too  much  depending  upon  means,  as 
well  as  of  too  much  neglecting  them.  Forget 
not  what  I  have  said  concerning  the  work  of 
the  Spirit  of  God.  He  is  your  helper ;  neither 
friends  nor  minister,  neither  reading  nor  hear- 
ing, no,  nor  the  Bible  itself,  must  lead  you. 
away  from  your  dependence  on  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Many  inquirers  seem  to  have  no  hope  or  expec- 
tation of  good  but  in  connection  with  certain 


RELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  39 

means :  if  they  are  cut  off  from  sermons  even 
occasionally,  or  have  not  precisely  tie  same 
number  and  kind  of  ordinances  they  have  been 
accustomed  to,  they  are  gloomy  and  despond- 
ing, and  hence  not  only  get  no  good  but  much  • 
harm  by  their  unbelief.  We  must  depend 
upon  God,  and  upon  nothing  but  God,  who 
could  bless  his  people  in  the.  darkness  of  a 
dungeon,  where  the  Bible  could  not  be  read, 
or  in  the  solitude  of  a  wilderness,  where  no 
gospel  sermon  could  be  heard. 

It  is  of  consequence  that  you  should  heve 
distinctly  understand,  that  the  grace  of  God  in 
your  salvation  is  rich  and  free.  Your  exer- 
tions to  obtain  salvation  do  not  merit  or  de- 
serve it;  and  if  you  receive  it,  you  will  not 
have  it  granted  to  you  as  the  reward  of  your 
own  unworthy  efforts. 

To  imagine  that  you  can  claim  the  grace  that 
is  necessary  to  your  conversion  because  you 
profess  to  seek  it,  is  to  follow  the  wretched 
example  of  those  who  in  ancient  times  "  went 
about  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  and 
did  not  submit  themselves  unto  the  righteous- 
ness of  God."  Your  deep  convictions,  impres- 
sions, and  solicitudes;  your  many  tears;  your 


40  THE  ANXIOUS  INQU]£ER. 

earnest  prayers ;  your  diligent  attendance  upon 
sermons;  and  your  partial  reformations,  as 
they  rise  from  no  higher  or  more  sacred  motive 
than  self-love,  and  are  not  originated  by  love 
to  God,  can  claim  nothing  in  the  way  of  reward 
from  him ;  nor  is  he  bound  to  save  you  for  that 
which  has  no  reference  to  his  glory:  till  you 
believe  God's  promise,  he  is  under  no  obliga- 
tion, even  to  himself,  to  save  you.  Notwith- 
standing all  your  concern  you  lie  at  his  mercy, 
and  if  you  are  saved,  it  is  of  pure  favor. 

Do  not  allow  yourself  to  conclude  that  your 
present  concern  is  sure  to  end  in  the  conver- 
sion of  your  soul  to  God.  Nothing  is  more 
likely  to  deaden  and  even  to  destroy  religious 
impressions,  than  to  infer  that  you  are  sure  of 
being  converted  because  you  are  anxious  about 
it:  facts  are  against  such  an  inference.  "I 
have  read  of  a  gentleman  who  felt  in  a  danger- 
ous sickness  great  horror  at  the  review  of  his 
past  life,  and  was  advised  to  send  for  a  minis- 
ter, who  might  be  able  to  set  his  mind  at  rest. 
The  minister  came.  The  gentleman  told  him 
that  if  God  would  be  pleased  to  preserve  him 
from  death,  his  life  should  bo  the  reverse  of 
what  it  had  been.    He  would  regularly  attend 


llELiaiOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  41 

church;  he  would  catechize  his  servants;  he 
would  regularly  worship  God  in  his  family  and 
in  his  closet;  he  would,  in  short,  do  every 
thing  a  Christian  should  do.  His  wishes  were 
accomplished ;  he  was  thankful  for  his  deliver- 
ance, and  did  not  forget  his  promises.  For 
many  months  he  continued,  as  far  as  his  con- 
duct could  be  judged  of  by  the  world,  to  per- 
form his  vows.  At  length,  however,  he  thought 
so  much  religion  superfluous.  He  first  left  off 
the  duties  of  the  closet  and  family;  public 
duties  at  last  became  likewise  too  wearisome, 
and  he  became  again  the  same  man  that  he 
formerly  was.  After  some  time  he  was  again 
seized  with  a  dangerous  disease,  and  was  ad- 
vised by  his  friends  to  send  again  for  the  min- 
ister, that  he  might  afford  fresh  consolation  to 
his  wounded  spirit.  *  No,'  said  he,  *  after  break- 
ing all  the  promises  that  I  made  to  God,  I  can- 
not expect  mercy  from  him.'  Death  found  him 
in  this  unhappy  state  of  mind,  and  carried  him 
to  that  world  where  there  are  no  changes.'' 
This  story,  with  some  variations  of  no  conse- 
quence, may  be  told  of  myriads.  Impressions 
are  made  upon  the  minds  of  sinners,  which  are 
attended  with  visible  consequences  that  give 


42  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

rise  to  favorable  hopes  in  tlie  breasts  of  friends 
and  ministers ;  but  their  hopes  often  prove  illu- 
sions. When  the  Lord  slew  the  children  of 
Israel,  "then  they  sought  him,  and  they  re- 
turned and  inquired  early  after  God ;  and  they 
remembered  that  the  Lord  had  been  their  rock, 
and  the  high  God  their  Redeemer;  neverthe- 
less they  did  flatter  him  with  their  mouth,  and 
they  lied  unto  him  with  their  tongues."  Psalm 
78  :  34-36.  They  seem  frequently  to  have  been 
sincere  at  the  time  in  their  promises,  not  indeed 
with  a  godly  sincerity ;  **  yet  their  hearts  were 
not  right  with  God,  neither  were  they  stead- 
fast in  his  covenant ;"  and  the  reason  why  they 
were  not  steadfast  in  the  covenant  was,  because, 
though  they  were  impressed,  their  hearts  were 
not  right  with  God. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  minister  of  the  gospel 
who  could  not  furnish  some  most  ajQfecting  illus- 
trations of  the  sentiment,  that  impressions  and 
convictions  do  not  always  end  in  conversion. 
I  began  my  own  religious  course  with  three 
companions,  one  of  whom  was  materially  ser- 
viceable in  some  particulars  to  myself;  but  he 
soon  proved  that  his  religion  was  nothing  more 
than  mere  transient  emotion ;  a  second  returned 


EELIGIOUS  IMPUESSIONS.  43 

to  his  sin  "  like  a  dog  to  his  Yomit,  and  a  sow 
that  is  washed  to  her  wallowing  in  the  mire." 
The  third,  who  was  for  some  time  my  intimate 
friend,  imbibed  the  principles  of  infidelity ;  and 
so  great  was  his  zeal  for  his  new  creed,  that 
he  sat  up  at  night  to  copy  out  Paine^s  Age  of 
Reason.  After  a  while  he  was  seized  with  a  dan- 
gerous disease ;  his  conscience  awoke ;  the  con- 
victions of  his  mind  were  agonizing ;  his  remorse 
was  horrible.  He  ordered  all  his  infidel  ex- 
tracts, that  it  had  cost  him  so  many  nights  to 
copy  out,  to  be  burnt  before  his  face;  and  if 
not  in  words,  yet  in  spirit, 

"Burn,  burn,"  he  cried,  in  sacred  rage, 
"Hell  is  the  due  of  every  page." 

His  infidel  companions  and  his  infidel  princi- 
ples forsook  him  at  once,  and  in  the  hearing  of 
a  pious  friend  who  visited  him,  and  to  whom 
he  confessed  with  tears  and  lamentations  his 
downward  course,  he  uttered  his  confessions  of 
sin  and  his  vows  of  repentance.  He  recovered ; 
but  painful  to  relate,  it  was  only  to  relapse 
again,  if  not  into  infidelity,  yet  at  any  rate  into 
an  utter  disregard  to  religion. 

These  are  awful  instances,  and  prove  by 
facts,  which  are  unanswerable  arguments,  that 


44  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

it  is  but  too  certain  that  many  seek  to  enter  in 
at  the  strait  gate,  but  do  not  accomplish  their 
object.  And  why?  Not  because  God  is  un- 
willing to  save  them,  but  because  they  rest  in 
impressions  without  actual  conversion.  It  is 
dangerous  then,  reader,  as  well  as  unwarranted, 
to  conclude  that  you  are  sure  to  be  saved,  be- 
cause you  now  feel  anxious  to  be  saved.  It  is 
very  true,  that  where  God  has  begun  a  good 
work  he  will  carry  it  on  to  the  day  of  Christ 
Jesus ;  but  do  not  conclude  too  certainly  that 
he  has  begun  it.  You  may  take  encourage- 
ment from  your  present  state  of  mind  to  hope 
that  you  will  be  saved;  but  that  encourage- 
ment should  rather  come  from  what  God  has 
promised,  and  what  God  is,  than  from  what 
you  feel.  To  regard  your  present  state  of  mind, 
therefore,  with  complacency — to  conceive  of  it 
as  preferring  any  claim  upon  God  to  convert 
you — to  look  upon  it  as  affording  a  certainty 
that  you  will  be  ultimately  converted,  a  kind 
of  pledge  and  earnest  of  salvation,  instead  of 
considering  it  only  as  struggles  after  salvation 
which  may  or  may  not  be  successful,  according 
as  they  are  continued  in  a  right  manner,  is  the 
way  to  lose  the  impressions  themselves,  and  to 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  45 

turn  back  again  to  sin  or  the  world.  The  true 
light  in  which  to  consider  your  present  solici- 
tude, is  that  of  a  state  of  mind  which,  if  it  ter- 
minate in  genuine  faith,  will  end  in  your  salva- 
tion ;  consequently  the  object  of  your  ceaseless 
care  should  be  to  give  your  heart  to  God,  and 
seek  his  grace  to  lead  you  to  true  repentance 
and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


46  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  GAINING-  SCRIPTU- 
RAL KNOWLEDGE.  AND  CLEAR  VIEWS  OF 
DIVINE  TRUTH. 

There  is  scarcely  any  one  point  to  which  the 
attention  of  anxious  inquirers  should  be  more 
earnestly  and  carefully  directed,  than  to  the 
necessity  of  an  accurate  understanding  of  the 
scheme  of  salvation,  and  the  doctrines  of  the 
Scriptures.  You  must  endeavor  to  have  clear 
ideas,  correct  views,  precise  and  intelligent 
notions.  The  concern  of  many  persons  is  noth- 
ing more  than  an  ignorant  anxiety  to  be  relig- 
ious :  they  have  scarcely  one  definite  idea  of 
what  religion  is.  Others  are  a  little  better 
informed  than  this,  but  still  have  no  notion  of 
piety,  but  as  either  a  state  of  excited  feeling, 
or  a  course  of  outward  observances.  Now  it 
is  important  that  you  should  perceive  that  the 
whole  superstructure  of  personal  godliness  rests 
on  knowledge.  True  conversion  is  emphati- 
cally called,  "  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  47 

truth."  Your  impressions  will  be  easily  effaced, 
and  your  concern  will  soon  subside,  if  you  do 
not  give  yourself  time,  and  use  the  means  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  truth.  There  is 
much  to  be  learnt  and  known,  as  well  as  to  be 
felt  and  done,  and  you  cannot  either  feel  or 
act  aright  unless  you  learn. 

The  reason  why  so  many  falter,  or  turn  back, 
is,  that  they  do  not  study  to  make  themselves 
acquainted  with  divine  truth.  Suppose  a  man 
were  travelling  through  a  strange  country, 
could  he  get  on  without  consulting  his  map  ? 
Would  it  be  of  any  service  to  wish  he  could 
travel  faster  and  get  on  better,  if  he  never  looked 
at  his  book  of  roads  ?  How  can  you  get  on  in  the 
way  to  heaven  without  studying  the  Bible,  which 
is  the  map  of  the  road  ?  Or,  changing  the  illus- 
tration, suppose  you  were  in  pecuniary  difficul- 
ties, and  some  friend  had  told  you  not  only  how 
to  extricate  yourself  from  your  perplexities,  but 
also  how  to  acquire  great  wealth,  and  in  order 
to  guard  you  from  error,  had  given  you  long 
written  directions ;  what  would  you  do  ?  Sit 
down  and  wish  and  long  for  success,  and  imme- 
diately set  out  in  a  great  bustle  to  realize  the 
promised  advantages  ?    No.    You  would  say, 


48  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIREa. 

"My  success  depends  upon  knowledge,  upon 
making  myself  accurately  acquainted  with  the 
particulars  of  my  friend^s  written  directions. 
I  will  read  them  therefore  with  the  greatest 
care,  till  I  have  every  one,  of  his  ideas  in  my 
mind,  for  it  is  quite  useless  to  exert  myself  if  I 
do  not  know  how  my  exertions  are  to  be  direct- 
ed." This  you  confess  is  quite  rational ;  and 
is  it  not  quite  as  necessary  for  you  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  subject  of  religion,  in  order 
to  be  truly  pious?  Knowledge,  knowledge, 
my  friend,  is  indispensable. 

Eeligion  is  repentance  towards  God ;  but 
can  you  repent  if  you  do  not  know  the  charac- 
ter of  the  God  whom  you  have  offended,  the 
law  you  have  broken,  and  the  sin  you  have 
committed  ?  Religion  is  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  but  can  you  really  believe,  if  you  do 
not  know  whom  and  what  you  are  to  believe  ? 
Religion  is  the  love  of  God ;  but  can  you  love 
a  Being  whom  you  do  not  know  ?  You  must 
give  yourself,  therefore,  time  and  opportunity 
for  reflection ;  you  must  bring  your  understand- 
ing to  the  subject ;  you  must  study  religion  as 
inspired  truth  to  be  known,  as  well  as  a  passion 
to  be  felt,  or  a  rule  to  be  observed.    It  is  of 


SCRlPTUaAL  KNOWLEDaE.  49 

great  consequence  tliat  at  this  stage  of  your 
progress  you  should  clearly  understand  that  it 
is  an  obvious  law  of  the  human  mind,  that  nei- 
ther faith  nor  feeling  of  any  kind  can  be  pro- 
duced by  any  other  means  than  that  of  know- 
ledge. Suppose  you  want  to  believe  a  person, 
or  love  him,  or  rejoice  in  him,  could  you  work 
up  your  mind  to  this  faith  in  a  direct  way? 
No  ]  you  must  know  some  grounds  on  which 
you  can  credit  him,  and  some  excellences  which 
render  him  worthy  of  your  affection,  and  some 
facts  which  are  a  just  cause  of  joy.  No  passion 
or  affection  can  be  called  into  exercise  but  by 
the  knowledge  of  something  that  is  calculated 
to  excite  that  affection.  You  may  try  as  long 
as  you  please  to  work  upon  the  mind  directly, 
but  the  thing  is  manifestly  impossible.  Hence 
the  importance  of  growing  in  knowledge  of 
divine  things.  The  way  to  have  our  faith  in- 
creased, is  to  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  what 
is  to  be  believed ;  and  if  we  would  be  rooted 
and  grounded  in  love,  we  must  first  be  rooted 
and  grounded  in  the  knowledge  of  what  we  are 
to  love.  The  order  of  nature  is  first  to  know, 
then  to  feel,  then  to  act ;  and  grace  follows  the 
order  of  nature.    1  deduce,  therefore,  this  in- 

luquirer.  4 


50  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER 

ference,  that  in  the  whole  business  of  religion, 
tlie  eye  of  the  inquirer  must  be  much  fixed  on 
subjects  out  of  himself,  on  those  that  are  pre- 
sented in  the  word  of  God.  If  you  ask  wha^ 
are  the  subjects  which  you  should  endeavor 
to  understand,  I  place  before  you  the  follow- 
ing: 

1.  The  moral  character  of  God,  The  know- 
ledge of  God  is  the  basis  of  all  religion.  God 
is  a  Spirit,  as  to  his  nature  almighty,  all-know- 
ing, and  everywhere  present,  searching  the 
hearts  and  trying  the  reins  of  the  children  of 
men.  As  to  his  moral  attributes,  it  is  said,  "  God 
is  love,"  and  *'  God  is  light ;"  T^y  which  we  are 
to  understand,  that  he  is  both  benevolent  and 
holy.  Yes,  so  holy  that  the  very  heavens  are 
unclean  before  him.  He  is  also  so  perfectly 
righteous,  so  inflexibly  just,  as  to  be  compelled 
by  the  infinite  perfection  of  his  nature  to  reveal 
liis  wrath  against  all  ungodliness  and  unright- 
eousness of  men ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  G6d 
that  cannot  lie,  but  who  will  fulfil  every  word 
of  promise  or  threatening.  0  my  reader,  dwell 
upon  this  view  of  the  divine  character  :  an  in- 
finite hatred  and  opposition  to  sin ;  an  infinite 
purity,  an  immutable  justice,  an  inviolable  truth. 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDGE.  51 

Pause  and  ponder  ;  but  canst  thou  lift  up  thine 
eyes  and  bear  the  sight?  Why,  the  cherubim 
veil  their  faces  with  their  wings,  as  they  stand 
before  the  great  white  throne,  and  say  one  to 
another,  "Holy,  holy,  holy.  Lord  God  of  hosts  f 
while  the  prophet,  filled  with  terror,  falls  pros- 
trate, exclaiming,  "  Woe  is  me,  for  I  am  undone, 
because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips."  Isaiah  6. 
0  the  deep  depravity,  the  utter  sinfulness  of 
man  before  this  holy  God ! 

2.  You  must  understand  the  law,  I  mean  the 
law  of  the  ten  commandments,  the  moral  law. 
You  must  know  the  spirituality  of  the  law,  by 
which  we  mean  that  it  demands  the  obedience 
of  the  mind  and  heart ;  it  is  made  for  the  soul^s 
innermost  recess,  as  well  as  for  the  actions  of 
the  life.  God  sees  and  searches  the  mind,  and 
therefore  demands  the  perfect  obedience  of  the 
heart,  and  forbids  its  evil  dispositions.  By  the 
law  of  God,  as  interpreted  by  Christ,  even  sin- 
ful anger  is  murder,  and  unchaste  thoughts  are 
adultery.  The  law  demands  from  every  human 
being  sinless,  perfect  obedience,  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  life,  in  thought,  word,  and 
deed ;  it  abates  nothing  of  its  demands,  and 
makes   no   allowances  for  human  weakness. 


b2  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

Matt.  5  :  17-48  ;  Jas.  2  :  10, 11.  The  perfection 
of  the  law  is  a  tremendous  subject,  it  is  an  aw- 
ful mirror  for  a  sinful  creature  to  look  into. 
You  must  also  understand  the  design  of  the  law ; 
it  is  not  given  to  save  us,  but  to  govern  us  and 
condemn  us,  to  show  us  what  sin  is,  and  to  con- 
demn us  for  committing  it.  Eom.  3  :  20  ;  Gal. 
3  :  10.  You  can  know  nothing,  if  you  do  not 
know  the  law.  "Sin  is  the  transgression  of 
the  law  f  but  how  can  you  know  sin,  if  you 
do  not  know  the  law  ?  0  inquirer,  how  many, 
how  great  are  thy  transgressions,  if  every  de- 
parture from  this  law,  in  feeling  as  well  as  in 
action,  is  a  sin!  Nor  is  this  all;  for  to  fall 
short  of  the  law  is  sin,  no  less  than  to  oppose 
it.  Read  what  our  Lord  has  said,  Matt.  22:37: 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind ;  and  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself."  Alarming  representation !  Hast  thou 
thus  loved  God  and  thy  neighbor?  Confound- 
ing and  overwhelming  question !  What  a  state 
of  sin  have  you  been  living  in !  Your  whole 
life  has  been  sin,  for  you  have  not  loved  God, 
and  not  to  love  God  is  all  sins  in  one.  Who 
can  think  of  greater  sin  than  not  loving  God  ? 


iSCRlPTUUAL  KNOWLEBaE.'  53 

To  love  the  world,  to  love  trifles,  to  love  even 
Bin,  and  not  love  God ! 

3.  But  this^leads  me  to  remark,  that -it  is 
necessary  you  should  understand  the  evil  of  sin. 
Men  think  little  of  sin ;  but  does  God  ?  What 
turned  Adam  and  Eve  out  of  paradise  ?  Sin. 
What  drowned  the  old  world  in  the  flood? 
Sin.  What  destroyed  God^s  own  city,  and 
scattered  his  chosen  people  as  vagrants  over 
the  face  of  the  earth?  Sin.  What  brought 
disease,  accidents,  toil,  care,  war,  pestilence, 
and  famine  into  the  world  ?  Sin.  What  has 
converted  the  world  into  one  great  burying- 
place  of  its  inhabitants  ?  Sin.  What  lighted 
the  flames  of  hell  ?  Sin.  What  crucified  the 
Lord  of  life  and  glory  ?  Sin.  What  then  must 
sin  be  ?  Who  but  God,  and  what  but  his  in- 
finite mind,  can  conceive  of  its  evil  nature? 
Did  you  ever  consider  that  it  was  only  one  sin 
that  brought  death  and  all  our  woe  into  the 
world?  Do  you  not  tremble  at  the  thought 
that  this  evil  is  in  you  ?  Some  will  attempt  to 
persuade  you  that  sin  is  a  trifle  ;  that  God  does 
not  take  much  account  of  it ;  that  you  need  not 
give  yourself  much  concern  about  it.  But  what 
says  God  himself,  in  his  word,  in  his  providence, 


54  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER 

in  the  torments  of  the  damned,  in  the  crucifix- 
ion of  his  Son  ?  You  have  not  only  sin  enough 
in  yourself  to  deserve  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
to  sink  you  to  it,  unless  it  be  pardoned ;  but 
sin  enough,  if  it  could  be  divided  and  distrib- 
uted to  others,  to  doom  multitudes  to  perdi- 
tion. 

4.  But  it  is  not  enough  to  know  your  actual 
sins,  you  must  also  clearly  understand  your 
original  and  inherent  depravity  of  heart.  There 
is  the  sin  of  your  nature,  as  well  as  the  sin  of 
your  conduct.  Our  Lord  has  told  us,  that "  those 
things  which  proceed  out  of  the  mouth  come 
forth  from  the  heart ;  for  out  of  the  heart  pro- 
ceed evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries,  forni- 
cations, thefts,  false  witness,  blasphemies." 
Matt.  15  :  18,  19.  The  heart  is  the  polluted 
fountain  from  whence  all  the  muddy  streams 
of  evil  conduct  flow.  The  heart  is  the  great 
storehouse  of  iniquity.  Men  sometimes  make 
excuse  for  their  evil  deeds  by  saying  that  they 
have  good  hearts  at  bottom  :  this,  however,  is 
an  awful  mistake,  for  every  man's  heart,  not 
excepting  the  most  wicked,  is  really  worse  than 
his  conduct.  Why  do  not  men  seek,  serve,  and 
love  God  ?    Because  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  55 

•ttgainst  him.  Why  do  sinners  go  on  in  sin? 
Because  they  love  it  in  their  hearts.  This  was 
not  the  original  condition  of  man,  for  God  creat- 
ed Adam  in  his  own  image,  that  is,  in  right- ' 
eousness  and  true  holiness ;  but  by  disobeying 
God  in  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  our  first  par- 
ent fell  into  a  state  of  sin,  and  we  having  de- 
scended from  him  since  the  fall,  inherit  cor- 
ruption. Rom.  5  :  12-21.  It  is  of  vast  conse- 
quence for  you  to  know  that  you  are  thus  to- 
tally corrupt,  for  without  this  knowledge  you 
will  be  taking  up  with  a  mere  outward  refor- 
mation, to  the  neglect  of  an  entire  inward  ren- 
ovation. If  you  saw  a  man  who  had  a  bad 
and  loathsome  disease  of  the  skin,  merely  ap- 
plying outward  lotions  and  fomentations,  you 
would  remind  him  that  the  seat  of  the  disorder 
was  in  the  blood,  and  admonish  him  to  purify 
that  by  medicine.  You  must  first  make  the 
tree  good,  said  our  Lord,  for  good  fruit  cannot 
be  borne  by  a  bad  tree.  So  your  heart  must 
be  renewed,  or  you  can  never  perform  good 
works.  You  not  only  need  the  pardon  of  ac- 
tual sin,  but  you  need  also  the  sanctification  of 
your  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  You  must  have 
a  new  heart  and  a  right  spirit,  or  you  cannot 


56  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

be  saved.  Read  Psalms  51,  53  ;  John  3  : 1-8 ; 
Gal.  5  :  19-25  ;  Eph.  4  :  17-24. 

5.  You  must  endeavor  at  once  to  gain  clear 
and  distinct  notions  of  the  precise  design  of 
Christ's  mediatorial  office  and  work.  All  will  be 
confusion  in  your  ideas,  and  unrelieved  distress 
in  your  soul,  if  you  do  not  understand  this 
subject.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  in  a  general 
way  that  Christ  died  to  save  sinners.  Did  it 
ever  occur  to  you  to  ask  the  question,  Why 
did  God  save  sinners  in  this  way  ?  Why  was 
it  necessary  for  his  Son  to  become  incarnate, 
suffer,  and  die  upon  the  cross  for  their  salvation? 
Why  was  it  not  enough  that  they  should  repent 
and  reform,  in  order  to  their  being  pardoned  ? 
What  precise  end  was  to  be  accomplished  by 
the  death  of  Christ?  I  will  show  you  this 
design. 

First,  as  it  relates  to  God.  Is  not  God  holy, 
and  does  he  not  abhor  sin  ?  Yes,  with  a  per- 
fect hatred.  Is  he  not  the  righteous  Governor 
of  the  universe,  and  has  he  not  given  a  law  to 
which  he  demands  perfect  obedience ;  and  has 
he  not  threatened  death  upon  all  who  break 
this  law  ?  Certainly.  Have  not  all  men  broken 
this  law  and  incurred  its  penalty?    Yes.    Sup- 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  51 

pose,  then,  that  upon  the  sinner's  repentance, 
even  admitting  that  he  were  disposed  to  repent 
and  reform,  God  were  to  receive  him  back  to 
his  favor;  and  suppose  he  was  to  do  this  in 
every  case,  where  would  be  his  truth  in  threat- 
ening to  follow  sin  with  punishment?  and  how 
would  his  holiness  or  hatred  of  sin  appear,  or 
his  justice  in  punishing  sin?  Would  it  not 
seem  a  light  thing  to  sin  against  God?  Would 
not  the  law  be  destroyed,  and  God's  moral 
government  be  set  aside?  Could  any  govern- 
ment, human  or  divine,  exist  with  an  indiscrim- 
inate dispensation  of  pardon  to  all  offenders, 
upon  their  repentance  ? 

But  you  say,  perhaps.  What  is  to  be  done  ? 
Is  not  repentance  all  that  the  sinner  has  to 
offer  ?  I  reply,  Is  repentance  all  that  God  is 
bound  to  require  ?  Besides,  it  is  not  all  that 
the  sinner  has  to  give,  for  he  can  also  suffer  the 
penalty.  Convinced  and  anxious  sinner,  I  put 
it  to  your  own  conscience  and  feelings,  do  you 
not  begin  to  see  the  holiness  of  God  and  the 
evil  of  sin;  and  do  you  think  you  could  ever 
be  at  rest,  if  you  had  nothing  but  repentance 
to  offer?  You  have  left  off  many  sins,  and 
begun  many  neglected  duties ;  you  have  read, 


58  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

and  prayed,  and  wept,  and  watched,  but  are 
you  at  peace  ?  No,  say  you ;  as  far  from  it  as 
ever.  Why?  Because  you  know  that  God  is 
true  and  holy  and  just,  and  yet  you  cannot  see 
how  he  can  be  holy  and  true  and  just,  if  your 
sins  are  forgiven  merely  upon  your  reformation. 
True,  and  your  conscience  will  ever  be  as  the 
sword  of  the  cherubim,  frightening  and  driviug 
you  back  from  God  as  long  as  you  have  noth- 
ing but  tears  and  prayers  and  doings  of  your 
own  to  bring.  Yes,  there  is  a  testimony  to 
God's  holiness  and  justice  in  your  conscience. 
But  now,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Him  hath 
God  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation  through 
faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness 
in  the  remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through 
the  forbearance  of  God :  to  declare,  I  say,  at 
this  time,  his  righteousness,  that  he  might  be 
JUST,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believeth  in 
Jesus.  Rom.  3  :  25.  Read  also  other  language 
of  the  same  apostle :  *'  He  hath  made  him," 
Christ,  "  to  be  sin,"  a  sin-offering,  "  for  us,  who 
knew  no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  right- 
eousness of  God  in  him."  2  Cor.  5  :  21.  The 
prophet  Isaiah  tells  us,  "  The  Lord  laid  upon 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  59 

him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  Isa.  53  : 6.  And 
the  apostle  Peter  says,  "  He  died,  the  just  for," 
in  place  of,  "  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us 
to  God."     1  Peter,  3:18. 

So  far  as  God  is  concerned,  then,  this  is  the 
precise  design  of  Christ^s  death,  not  to  render 
him  merciful,  for  the  gift  of  Christ  is  the  fruit 
of  divine  love,  but  that  he  might  appear  what 
he  is,  a  holy  God  in  hating  sin,  a  righteous 
God  in  punishing  it,  and  a  merciful  God  at 
the  same  time  in  forgiving  it.  The  death  of 
Christ  is  intended  to  be  a  display  of  holy  love, 
the  union  of  abhorrence  to  the  sin  and  com- 
passion to  the  sinner,  the  union  of  a  just  regard 
to  his  own  character,  law,  and  government, 
and  a  merciful  regard  to  the  sinful  and  miser- 
able children  of  men. 

Take  an  illustration :  Zaleucus  king  of  the 
Locrians  had  promulgated  a  law  to  his  subjects, 
threatening  any  one  who  should  be  guilty  of 
the  crime  of  adultery,  with  the  loss  of  his  eyes. 
His  own  son  was  the  first  convicted  under  the 
law.  The  kingly  and  parental  character  seem- 
ed to  struggle  for  predominance :  if  the  prince 
be  pardoned,  what  becomes  of  the  law ;  if  he 
be  punished,  how  great  a  calamity  will  the 


60  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

father  endure  in  the  afiSiction  of  the  son? 
What  is  to  be  done?  The  father  determines 
that  he  will  lose  one  of  his  eyes,  and  the  son 
one  of  his.  It  was  done.  Here  was  punish- 
ment and  pardon  united.  Atonement  was  made 
to  the  offended  law,  as  effectually  as  if  the  son 
had  been  reduced  to  total  blindness.  .The  letter 
of  the  law  was  not  complied  with,  but  the  spirit 
of  it  was  exceeded. 

The  case  of  course  is  not  adduced  as  a  per- 
fect parallel  to  the  atonement  of  Christ,  but 
simply  as  an  illustration  of  its  principles,  as 
tending  to  show  that  atonement  may  be  as 
effectually  made  by  substitution,  as  by  the  suf- 
fering of  the  real  offender.  Anxious  sinner, 
dwell  upon  the  atonement  of  Christ ;  there  is 
thy  hope,  thy  joy,  thy  life.  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God  bearing  the  sin  of  the  world,  and  thine 
among  the  rest.  Think  of  the  dignity  of  the 
sufferer,  the  extremity  of  his  sufferings,  and 
the  consequences  of  his  mediation.  Could  the 
law  ever  be  more  honored,  than  by  the  obe- 
dience of  such  a  person  ?  Could  justice  be  more 
displayed,  even  by  the  everlasting  punishment 
of  all  the  human  race?  Tremble  not  to  ap- 
proach to  God  through  Christ.     He  has  made 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDGE.  61 

provision  for  the  manifestation  of  his  own 
glory,  as  well  as  for  the  salvation  of  thy  soul. 
God  is  upon  a  throne  of  grace ;  the  blood  of 
atonement  has  been  shed  and  sprinkled ;  the 
hand  of  mercy  holds  forth  the  blessing  of  sal- 
vation :  fix  thine  eye  upon  Jesus  the  Mediator ; 
rest  all  thy  hope  upon  his  sacrifice ;  plead  his 
atonement,  and  then  life  eternal  is  thine. 

But,  secondly,  you  must  also  be  instructed  in 
the  design  of  Christ's  death  in  reference  to  your- 
self. This  is  immensely  important ;  it  is  often 
but  partially  understood  by  the  inquirer,  amid 
the  throbbing  solicitude  of  his  spirit,  and  the 
first  alarms  of  conscious  guilt.  With  the  aven- 
ger of  blood  pursuing  him,  he  is  apt  to  think 
of  little  else  than  safety  from  vengeance.  But 
there  is  another  enemy  he  has  to  fear  besides 
hell,  and  that  is,  sin ;  and  could  he  be  deliver- 
ed from  hell  without  being  delivered  from  sin, 
he  would  find  no  heaven.  When  man  was 
created,  he  was  created  holy,  and  consequently 
happy.  He  was  not  only  placed  in  a  paradise 
that  was  without  sin,  but  he  was  blessed  with 
a  paradise  within  him.  His  perfect  holiness 
was  as  much  the  Eden  of  his  soul,  as  the  gar- 
den which  he  tilled  was  the  Eden  of  his  bodily 


62  THE  ANXIOUS  IKQUIRER. 

senses :  it  was  in  the  inward  paradise  of  a  holy 
mind  that  he  walked  in  communion  with  God. 
The  fall  cast  him  out  of  this  heaven  upon  earth ; 
his  understanding  became  darkened,  his  heart 
corrupted,  his  will  perverted,  and  his  disposi- 
tion earthly,  sensual,  and  devilish.  Not  only 
was  his  conscience  laden  with  guilt,  but,  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  his  imagination  was  full 
of  terror  and  dread  of  that  holy  God  whose 
voice  and  presence  formerly  imparted  nothing 
but  transport  to  his  soul.  He  was  afraid  of 
God,  and  unfit  for  him.  His  whole  soul  became 
the  seat  of  fleshly  appetites  and  irregular  pas- 
sions. In  his  innocence  he  loved  God  supreme- 
ly, and  his  companion  as  himself.  He  was 
united  by  a  feeling  of  dependence  and  devoted- 
ness  to  God,  and  to  the  creature  by  a  principle 
of  hallowed  sympathy.  But  now  he  was  cut 
off  from  both,  and  came  under  the  domination 
of  an  absorbing  and  engrossing  selfishness. 
Such  is  the  character  he  has  transmitted  by  the 
channel  of  ordinary  generation  to  all  his  pos- 
terity ;  they  are  not  only  guilty,  but  depraved — 
not  bnly  under  the  wrath  of  God,  but  despoiled 
of  his  image — not  only  condemned  by  God,  but 
alienated  from  him.    Hence,  then,  the  design 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDGE.  63 

of  the  death  of  Christ  is  not  only  to  deliver  us 
from  the  penal,  but  also  from  the  polluting  con- 
sequences of  sin.  True  it  is,  that  hell  will  be 
some  place  set  apart  for  the  wicked,  where  the 
justice  of  God  will  consign  them  to  the  misery 
which  their  sins  have  deserved :  but  what  is 
that  misery  ?  an  eternal  abandonment  of  them 
to  themselves,  with  all  their  crimes  in  full  ma- 
turity ;  so  that  hell  is  not  only  the  wrath  of 
God  suffered,  but  that  wrath  coupled  with,  as 
its  effects,  an  eternal  endurance  of  all  the 
tyranny  of  sin. 

The  death  of  Christ  is  intended  as  a  deliver- 
ance from  the  power  of  sin.  "His  name  is 
Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their 
sins,'^  not  in  them.  He  "gave  himself  for  us, 
that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  to  himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of 
good  works.''  "  Christ  loved  the  church,  and 
gave  himself  for  it ;  that  he  might  sanctify  and 
cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
word,  that  he  might  present  it  to  himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle, 
or  any  such  thing ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy 
and  without  blemish.''  Eph.  5:25-27.  And 
hence  it  is  said  to  be  the  profession  of  believers 


64  THE  ANXIOUS^  INQUIRER. 

in  their  baptism,  to  be  under  obligation  to  a 
conformity  to  the  ends  and  designs  of  Christ's 
death.     Rom.  6 : 1-7. 

Do  then,  my  dear  friend,  take  up  at  once 
right  views  of  the  design  of  the  work  of  Christ* 
You  are  to  look  to  him  for  salvation.  But 
what  is  salvation?  Not  pardon  only;  not 
mere  absolution  from  punishment ;  not  merely 
deliverance  from  the  bottomless  pit.  These 
blessings  are,  I  admit,  a  part  of  it,  but  they  are 
only  a  part ;  salvation  means  the  crucifixion  of 
your  flesh  with  its  affections  and  lusts,  the 
mortification  of  your  corrupt  nature.  The  sal- 
vation which  the  gospel  offers  is  not  only  a 
future  deliverance  from  hell,  but  a  present 
deliverance  from  sin;  not  only  a  rescue  from 
punishment,  but  a  restoration  to  favor;  and 
not  only  a  restoration  to  the  favor  of  God,  but 
also  to  his  image.  Christ  died  to  raise  you  to 
the  state  of  Adam  before  his  fall — to  a  holy 
state.  The  end  of  all  God's  dealings  in  a  way 
of  mercy  to  the  sinner,  is  to  restore  to  his  soul 
the  dominion  of  holy  priilciples:  the  whole 
manifestation  of  holy  love  in  the  gospel  is  de- 
signed to  change  the  stubborn,  selfish,  worldly, 
wicked  heart  of  the  fallen  creature  into  its  own 


SCEIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  65 

likeness ;  and  thus  by  making  him  a  partaker 
of  the  divine  nature,  to  fit  him  for  divine  com- 
munion. 

Now  let  every  anxious  inquirer  consider 
this :  let  him  ask  what  it  is  he  wants  as  a  fall- 
en, sinful  creature ;  is  it  not  the  deliverance  of 
his  soul  from  the  power,  as  well  as  the  punish- 
ment of  sin?  Is  he  not  painfully  conscious  to 
himself,  not  only  of  wrath  coming  down  upon 
him  from  God  for  his  sins,  but  of  a  spring  of 
misery  in  himself  in  the  existence  of  those  very 
sins  ?  And  is  it  not  for  this  he  should  look  to 
Christ  ?  Could  he  be  saved  at  all,  if  not  saved 
from  his  body  of  flesh,  his  corrupt  nature  ?  And 
can  any  one  save  him  from  this  but  Christ? 
Poor  troubled,  tormented  sinner,  look  to  Christ; 
in  him  is  all  you  want :  the  Son  of  God  will 
be  made  unto  *'  you  wisdom,  and  righteousness, 
and  sanctification,  and  redemption."  1  Cor. 
1 :  30. 

6.  Connected  with  this  is  the  momentous 
subject  of  the  justification  of  a  sinner  in  the  sight 
of  God.  You  must  soon  be  at  the  bar  of  God 
for  judgment,  and  if  you  are  not  justified,  you 
must  be  condemned.  Yea,  if  you  are  not  yet 
justified,  which  it  is  to  be  presumed  you  are 

Inqiiirer.  9 


66  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

not,  you  are  now  in  a  state  of  condemnation: 
for  ''  he  that  believeth  not,  is  condemned  al- 
ready; the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 
John  3:18,  36.  Every  one  who  has  not  yet 
received  Christ  is  under  the  curse  of  the  law ; 
he  is  a  dead  man  in  law,  a  sinner  doomed  to 
die,  condemned  by  God,  condemned  to  death 
eternal.  Well  may  you  tremble  at  your  situa- 
tion, and  like  the  man. who,  after  condemnation 
at  the  bar  of  his  country^s  justice,  has-  been 
removed  to  await  in  his  cell  the  execution  of 
his  sentence,  ask  the  question,  "How  shall  I 
escape?"  At  this  stage  of  your  experience, 
then,  it  is  infinitely  desirable  you  should  be 
clearly  instructed  in  the  nature  of  justification. 
It  is  a  subject  of  immense  consequence  to  the 
sinner,  and  is  therefore  frequently  mentioned, 
and  treated  at  great  length  in  the  epistles  to 
the  Romans  and  Galatians. 

Attend  to  the  meaning  of  the  word.  Justi- 
fication is  the  opposite  '^f  condemnation,  as  is 
evident  from  the  following  passages :  "  He  that 
justifieth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  condemnetli 
the  just,  even  they  both  are  abomination  to  the 
Lord."  Prov.  17  :  15.  "  Who  shall  lay  any  thing 
to  the  charge  of  God^s  elect?  it  is  God  that 


SCHIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  67 

jiistifieth,  who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?"  Rom. 
8  :  33.  Fix  this  simple  idea  in  your  mind,  that 
justification  is  the  opposite  of  condemnation, 
for  things  are  sometimes  easily  and  impres- 
sively learnt  by  their  contraries.  The  justifi- 
cation of  an  innocent  person  is  pronouncing 
him  just,  on  the  ground  of  his  own  conduct; 
but  how  can  a  sinner  who  is  confessedly  guilty 
of  innumerable  transgressions,  be  justified? 
Now  you  will  see  at  once  that  the  term,  in  ref 
erence  to  him,  is  a  little  different,  and  signifies 
not  that  he  is  righteous  in  himself,  but  is  treat- 
ed as  if  he  had  been,  through  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  imputed  to  him.  "  Justification,"  says 
the  Assembly's  Catechism,  "is  an  act  of  God's 
free  grace  unto  sinners,  in  which  he  pardoneth 
all  their  sins,  accepteth  and  accounteth  their 
persons  righteous  in  his  sight,  not  for  any  thing 
wrought  in  them,  or  done  by  them,  but  only 
for  the  perfect  obedience  and  full  satisfaction 
of  Christ,  by  God  imputed  to  them,  and  re- 
ceived by  faith  alone."  In  justification,  God 
acts  as  a  judge,  in  absolving  the  sinner  from 
punishment,  and  restoring  him  to  all  the  privi- 
leges of  a  citizen  of  the  heavenly  community. 
Justification  means  not  merely  pardon,  but 


68  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

something  more.  Pardon  would  only  restore 
the  sinner  to  the  state  of  Adam  before  he  fell, 
when  he  was  not  yet  entitled  to  the  reward  of 
obedience,  and  which  indeed  he  never  obtained. 
Justification  is  pardon  connected  with  a  title 
to  eternal  life.  Justification  takes  place  but 
once ;  pardon  may  be  frequently  repeated :  jus- 
tification is  that  great  change  which  is  made 
in  the  sinner's  relation  to  God,  when  he  is  de- 
livered from  condemnation,  and  is  brought  from 
being  an  enemy  to  be  a  child.  If  a  king  were 
to  save  a  condemned  criminal,  and  immediately 
adopt  him  as  a  child,  this  would  resemble  our 
justification ;  and  his  frequent  forgiveness  of 
his  subsequent  offences,  when  standing  in  the 
relation  of  a  son,  would  resemble  God's  fatherly 
love  in  forgiving  the  sins  of  his  children.  Jus- 
tification, then,  is  God's  act  in  taking  off  the 
jsentence  of  a  sinner's  condemnation  by  the 
law,  restoring  him  to  his  favor,  and  granting 
him  a  title  to  eternal  life  in  heaven.  But  how 
can  a  righteous  God,  who  has  respect  for  his 
holy  law,  justify  a  sinner?  I  answer,  on  the 
ground  of  Christ's  righteousness.  Thus  the 
law  is  honored,  because  justification  proceeds 
on  the  ground  of  a  righteousness  which  meets 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  69 

and  satisfies  its  demands.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ,  that 
the  sinner  is  accepted  to  the  divine  favor  out  of 
regard  to  what  Christ  did  and  suffered  on  his 
behalf.  This  judicial  act  of  God  in  justifying 
the  sinner  takes  place  when,  and  as  soon  as  he 
believes  in  Christ,  because  by  that  act  of  faith 
he  is  brought  into  union  with  the  Saviour,  and 
becomes  legally  one  with  him,  so  as  to  receive 
the  benefit  of  his  mediatorial  undertaking. 

In  connection  with  this,  it  may  be  well  to 
show  the  nature  of  sanctification,  and  how 
these  two  blessings  are  related  to  each  other. 
Sanctification  signifies  our  being  set  apart  from 
the  love  and  service  of  sin  and  the  world,  to 
the  love  and  service  of  God — ^it  is  our  being 
made  holy;  and  a  saint,  or  sanctified  one, 
means  a  holy  one.  Justification  is  the  result 
of  Christ^s  work  for  us ;  sanctification  is  the 
Holy  Spirit^s  work  in  us.  Conceive  of  a  crim- 
inal in  jail  under  sentence  of  death,  and  at  the 
same  time  infected  with  a  dangerous  disease: 
in  order  to  his  being  saved,  he  must  be  both 
pardoned  and  cured  ;  for  if  he  be  only  par- 
doned, he  will  soon  die  of  his  disease ;  or  if  he 
be  only  cured,  he  will  soon  be  executed.    Such 


70  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

is  the  emblem  of  the  pinner's  case :  by  actual 
sin  he  is  condemned  to  die,  by  inherent  de- 
pravity he  is  infected  with  a  spiritual  disease ; 
in  justification  he  is  pardoned,  in  sanctification 
he  is  cured ;  and  the  two  blessings,  although 
distinct,  are  always  united,  and  are  both  neces- 
sary to  salvation.  Thus  you  see  justification 
changes  our  relation  to  God,  but  sanctification 
changes  our  spiritual  condition  ;  and  regenera- 
tion, or  the  new  birth,  means  our  first  entrance 
upon  a  sanctified  state. 

Diligently  attend  to  these  things,  reader ;  fix 
your  mind  upon  them;  labor  to  understand 
them :  a  knowledge  of  these  two  blessings,  jus- 
tification and  sanctification,  is  a  key  to  the 
whole  Bible.  0  blessed,  infinitely  blessed  state, 
to  be  delivered  from  the  condemnation  of  our 
sins,  and  from  their  domineering  and  defiling 
power :  this  is  a  present  salvation. 

7.  You  should  also  be  well  instructed  in  the 
nature  and  necessity  of  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  renewing  and  sanctifying  the  sinner^s 
heart.  It  is  an  important  lesson,  and  one  that 
should  be  learnt  at  the  very  beginning  of  your 
religious  course,  that  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  sinner  is  as  necessary  to  his  sal- 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDOE.  71 

vation  as  the  work  of  Christ ybr  him.  As  we 
are  all  corrupt  by  nature,  in  consequence  of 
our  descent  from  Adam,  so  we  universally  grow 
up  and  remain  without  any  true  religion,  till  it 
is  implanted  in  the  heart  by  divine  grace :  true 
holiness  is  something  foreign  from  our  corrupt 
nature,  and  the  whole  business  of  religion  from 
first  to  last  is  carried  on  in  the  heart  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  There  is  not,  as  I  before  re- 
marked and  now  repeat,  a  truly  pious  thought, 
feeling,  purpose,  word,  or  action,  but  what  is 
the  result  of  divine  influence  upon  the  human 
mind.  Our  regeneration,  or  new  birth,  is  as- 
cribed to  the  Spirit ;  hence  it  is  said,  "  E-xcept 
a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he 
cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God."  John 
3  : 5.  Our  right  knowledge  of  God's  word  is 
traced  up  to  the  Spirit;  hence  David  prayed, 
*'  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  won- 
drous things  out  of  thy  law."  Psa.  119  :  18. 
Paul  also  prayed  for  the  illumination  of  the 
Spirit,  on  behalf  of  the  Ephesians.  Eph.  1 :  lY, 
18.  Sanctification  is  entirely  the  work  of  the 
Spirit;  see  2  Thess.  2:13;  1  Pet.  1:2.  Be- 
lievers are  said  to  "live  in  the  Spirit;"  "to. 
walk  in  the  Spirit ;"  "  to  walk  not  after  the 


72  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIREU. 

flesli,  but  after  the  Spirit;''  "to  be  led  by  the 
Spirit ;"  "  to  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body  by 
the  Spirit ;"  "  to  be  sealed  by  the  Spirit ;"  "  to 
have  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  their  spirit 
that  they  are  the  children  of  God  f  to  enjoy 
''  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit ;"  and  "  to  bring 
forth  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit."  Gal.  5  :  22-25 ; 
Rom.  8  : 1-16 ;  Eph.  1 :  13,  14.  Now  from  all 
these  passages,  and  many  more  that  might  be 
quoted,  it  is  evident  that  the  work  of  genuine 
religion  is,  from  first  to  last,  carried  on  in  the 
soul  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  His  depart- 
ment, so  to  speak,  in  the  economy  of  our  re- 
demption. The  Father  is  represented  as  orig- 
inating the  scheme,  the  Son  as  executing  it,  the 
Spirit  as  applying  it.  But  in  order  that  your 
mind  may  not  be  perplexed,  as  is  sometimes 
the  case,  by  this  doctrine,  I  will  make  one  or 
two  remarks  on  the  subject  of  divine  influence. 
The  design  of  the  Spirit's  influence  is  not  to 
give  new  mental  faculties,  but  a  proper  exer- 
cise of  those  we  already  possess.  His  great 
work  is,  to  create  a  new  heart  in  the  sinner, 
which  means  a  new  and  holy  disposition.  Man 
by  nature  is  so  depraved  that  he  cannot  love 
God ;  that  is,  he  is  so  desperately  wicked  that 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDaE.  73 

lij  is  not  in  a  mind  to  love  him,  and  never  will 
be  till  God  change  his  mind. 

The  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  mind 
is  very  mysterious,  and  we  ought  not  to  spend 
time  in  endeavoring  to  comprehend  it,  nor  to 
indulge  in  any  speculations  about  it.  Our  Lord 
declares  it  to  be  a  great  mystery,  where  he 
says  to  Nicodemus,  "  The  wind  bloweth  where 
it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof, 
but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh  and  whither 
it  goeth ;  so  is  every  one  that  -is  born  of  the 
Spirit."  John  3:8.  We  see  the  effects  of  the 
wind,  but  we  cannot  account  for  the  changes 
in  the  atmosphere;  so  it  is  in  the  conversion 
of  a  sinner.  It  would  greatly  arrest  the  prog- 
ress of  the  inquirer,  to  engage  in  any  specula- 
tions abojcit  this,  or  any  other  mystery  of  divine 
truth. 

The  work  of  the  Spirit  is  not  intended  to 
supersede  the  use  of  our  faculties,  but  to  di- 
rect them  aright.  He  does  not  work  without 
us,  but  by  us ;  he  does  not  change  and  convert 
and  sanctify  us,  by  leaving  us  idle  spectators 
of  the  work,  but  by  engaging  us  in  it.  Hence 
the  admonition  of  the  apostle  to  the  Philip- 
pians,  "  Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear 


74  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

and  trembling ;  for  it  is  God  that  worketli  in 
you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good 
pleasure/'  Phil.  2  :  12,  13.  The  exhortation, 
you  perceive,  does  not  say,  "Since  it  is  God 
that  worketh,  there  is  nothing  for  you  to  do, 
and  you  may  therefore  sit  still."  No,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is,  "  Do  you  work,  for  God  works 
in  you."  God's  working  in  us,  is  a  motive  for 
our  working.  It  is  the  breeze  that  wafts  the 
ship  along,  but  then  the  mariner  must  hoist  his 
sail  to  catch  it ;  it  is  the  rain  and  sunshine  that 
cause  the  seed  to  germinate  and  grow,  but  the 
husbandman  must  plough  and  sow ;  for  though 
the  seed  cannot  grow  without  the  influence  of 
the  heavens,  so  neither  can  it  grow  without 
the  sowing  of  the  husbandman. 

We  cannot  usually  distinguish  between  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit,  and  the  operations  of 
our  own  minds,  nor  is  it  necessary  we  should. 
We  cannot  tell  where  man  ends  and  God  be- 
gins, nor  ought  we  to  trouble  or  perplex  our- 
selves about  the  matter.  Hence,  instead  of 
waiting  for  any  sensible  or  ascertainable  im- 
pulse of  the  Spirit,  either  before  we  begin  relig- 
ion at  all,  or  before  we  engage  in  any  partic- 
ular exercise  of  it,  we  are  immediately  to  engage 


SCRIPTURAL  KNOWLEDGE.  75 

all  our  faculties,  and  at  the  same  time  engage 
tliem  in  a  spirit  of  entire  dependence  upon  God. 
We  are  to  fix  our  attention,  to  deliberate,  to 
purpose,  to  resolve,  to  choose,  just  as  we  should 
in  worldly  matters ;  but  we  are  to  do  all  this 
with  a  feeling  of  reliance,  and  in  the  very  spirit 
of  prayer.  It  is  our  obvious  duty  to  repent 
and  to  believe,  and  also  to  do  this  at  once,  and 
not  merely  to  desire  to  do  it  or  attempt  to  do 
it;  but  such  is  the  depravity  of  our  nature, 
that  we  never  shall  do  it  till  God  influences 
us.  "What  we  have  to  do,  therefore,  is  imme- 
diately to  obey  the  command  to  repent  and 
believe ;  but  to  obey  in  the  very  language  and 
feeling  of  that  prayer,  "  Lord,  help  mine  unbe- 
lief.^' We  must  obey,  not  only  believing  that 
it  is  our  duty  to  obey,  but  believing  also  that 
we  shall  be  assisted.  Hence  the  very  essence 
of  religion  seems  to  be  a  spirit  of  vigorous 
exertion,  blended  with  a  spirit  of  unlimited 
dependence  and  earnest  prayer.  An  illustra- 
tion may  be  borrowed,  as  recorded  Matthew 
12  :  10,  from  the  case  of  the  man  with  the  with- 
ered arm.  Our  Lord  commanded  him  to  stretch 
forth  his  hand,  and  he  did  not  say.  Lord,  1 
cannot,  it  is  dead ;  but  relying  on  his  power 


76  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

who  gave  the  injunction,  and  believing  that 
the  command  implied  a  promise  of  help  if  he 
were  willing  to  receive  it,  he  stretched  it  forth ; 
that  is,  he  willed  to  do  it,  and  he  was  able. 
So  it  must  be  with  the  sinner ;  he  is  command- 
ed to  repent  and  believe,  and  he  is  not  to  say, 
I  cannot,  for  I  am  dead  in  sin ;  but  he  is  to  be- 
lieve in  the  promised  aid  of  grace,  and  to  obey 
in  a  dependence  upon  Him  who  worketh  in  mer 
to  will  and  to  do. 


ON  REPENTANCE.  '  77 


CHAPTER   IV. 

ON  REPENTANCE. 

**  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  per- 
ish." Such  was  the  awful  and  tremendous  de- 
nunciation of  our  Lord  to  those  Jews  who  were 
at  that  time  listening  to  his  discourse.  And 
except  you  repent,  my  reader,  you  will  perish, 
perish  body  and  soul  in  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
perish  everlastingly.  There  is  a  world  of  mis- 
ery in  that  word  perish;  it  is  deep  as  hell, 
broad  as  infinity,  and  long  as  eternity.  None 
can  comprehend  its  meaning  but  lost  souls,  and 
they  are  ever  discovering  in  it  some  new  mys- 
tery of  woe.  This  misery  will  be  yours  unless 
you  repent.  Tremble  at  the  thought,  and  pray 
to  Him  who  was  exalted  "  to  give  repentance " 
as  well  as  "remission  of  sins,"  that  he  would 
confer  this  grace  upon  you.  But  what  is  it  to 
repent?  It  is  more,  much  more,  than  mere 
sorrow  for  sin:  this  is  evident  from  what  the 
apostle  has  remarked :  "  Godly  sorrow  worketh 


73  •     THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

repentance  to  salvation,  not  to  be  repented  of." 
2  Cor.  7  :  10.  True  sorrow  for  sin  is  a  part  of 
repentance,  and  only  a  part ;  for  the  scripture 
just  quoted  evidently  makes  a  distinction  be- 
tween them.  Many,  very  many  grieve  for  their 
sins,  who  never  repent  of  them.  Men  may 
grieve  for  the  consequences  of  their  sins,  with- 
out mourning  for  the  sins  themselves.  The 
meaning  of  the  word  repent,  generally  used  in 
the  Greek  Scriptures,  is,  a  change  of  mind. 
Repentance  therefore  signifies  an  entire  change 
of  man's  views,  disposition,  and  conduct,  with 
respect  to  sin.  It  is  equivalent  in  meaning  to 
regeneration.  The  new  birth  means  a  change 
of  heart,  and  repentance  is  that  same  change 
viewed  in  reference  to  sin.  The  author  of  re- 
pentance is  the  Holy  Ghost ;  it  is  the  eflect  of 
divine  grace  working  in  the  heart  of  man.  The 
following  things  are  included  in  true  repent- 
ance. 

1.  Conviction  of  sin,  ''When  he,"  the  Spirit, 
"is  come,''  said  Christ,  "he  shall  reprove,"  that 
is,  convince,  "the  world  of  sin."  John  16:8. 
The  true  penitent  has  a  clear  view  of  his  state 
before  God  as  a  guilty  and  depraved  creature. 
All  men  say  they  are  sinners,  the  penitent 


ON  REPENTANgjTi^X      ^^  ^^ 

knows  it;  they  talk  of  it,  fCflffll  Tif ®]ftjS  I ' 
have  heard  it  from  others,  an^1|Ckeii  itrw^  as  ^  ^ 
an  opinion,  he  has  learnt  it  by^^^aGlijn^  .gfiS  ' 
God,  who  has  shown  him  the  purity  oFffielaw; 
and  the  wickedness  of  his  own  conduct  and 
heart  as  opposed  to  the  law.  He  has  looked' 
into  the  bright  and  faithful  mirror,  and  has 
seen  his  exceeding  sinfulness.  He  perceives 
that  he  has  lived  without  God,  for  he  has  not 
loved  and  served  and  glorified  him.  This,  in 
his  view,  is  sin — -his  not  loving  and  serving 
God.  He  may  not  have  been  profligate,  but 
he  has  lived  without  God ;  and  even  if  he  had 
been  openly  vicious,  this  is  the  parent  vice,  his 
want  of  love  to  God.  He  sees  that  all  his 
worldly-mindedness,  folly,  and  wickedness  have 
sprung  from  a  depraved  heart,  a  heart  alien- 
ated from  God.  He  formerly  thought  he  was 
not  quite  as  he  ought  to  be,  but  now  he  per- 
ceives that  he  has  been  altogether  what  he 
ought  not  to  be ;  formerly  he  knew  all  was  not 
right,  but  he  now  sees  that  all  was  wrong ; 
then  he  was  of  opinion  he  had  no  very  strong 
claim  upon  God's  justice  or  even  mercy,  but 
now  he  perceives  clearly  that  he  has  been  so 
great  a  sinner  that  God  would  have  been  just 


80  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

had  lie  cast  Mm  into  liell.  This  is  now  his 
confession : 

^'Should  sudden  vengeance  seize  my  breath, 
I  must  pronounce  thee  just  in  death ; 
And  if  my  soul  were  sent  to  hell, 
Thy  righteous  law  approves  it  well." 

Can  you  subscribe  to  this,  reader  ?  if  not,  you 
are  not  yet  convinced  of  sin  as  you  must  be. 
No  man  knows  what  sin  is,  and  how  sinful  he 
himself  is,  who  does  not  clearly  see  that  he  has 
deserved  to  be  cast  into  "  the  lake  that  burneth 
with  fire." 

2.  Self-condemnation  is  implied  in  true  repent- 
ance. As  long  as  a  person  indulges  a  self-jus- 
tifying spirit,  and  is  disposed,  if  not  to  defend 
his  sins,  yet  to  excuse  them,  he  is  not  truly  pen- 
itent, he  is  not  indeed  convinced  of  sin.  To 
frame  excuses  for  sin,  and  to  take  refuge  from 
the  voice  of  accusation  and  the  stings  of  con- 
science in  circumstances  of  palliation,  is  the 
besetting  infirmity  of  human  nature,  which  first 
showed  itself  in  our  fallen  parents  when  the 
man  threw  the  blame  upon  the  woman,  and  the 
woman  upon  the  serpent ;  and  it  has  since  con- 
tinued to  show  itself  in  all  their  descendants. 
We  very  commonly  hear  those  who  have  beeu 


ON  EEPENTANCE.  81 

recently  led  to  see  their  sins,  mitigating  their 
guilt:  one  by  pleading  the  peculiarity  of  his 
situation ;  another  his  constitution ;  a  third  the 
strength  of  the  temptation ;  a  fourth  imputes 
his  actual  sins  to  his  original  sin,  and  endeav- 
ors on  this  ground  to  lessen  his  sense  of  guilt. 
But  there  is  no  true  repentance  while  this  frame 
of  mind  lasts.  No,  never  till  the  sinner  has 
cast  aside  all  excuses,  rejected  all  pleas  of  ex- 
tenuation, and  abandoned  all  desire  of  self-jus- 
tification— ^never  till  he  is  brought  to  take  the 
whole  blame  upon  himself — never  till  he  pro- 
nounces his  own  sentence  of  condemnation — 
never  till  his  mouth  is  stopped  as  to  excuse, 
and  he  is  brought  unfeignedly  and  contritely 
to  exclaim.  Guilty,  guilty,  is  he  truly  penitent. 
Some  such  as  this  is  now  his  sincere  confession : 
"0  God,  thou  injured  Sovereign,  thou  all- 
holy  God,  and  all-righteous  Judge,  I  can  at- 
tempt to  excuse  myself  no  longer.  I  stand  be- 
fore thee  a  convicted,  self-condemned  sinner. 
What  has  my  life  been  but  a  course  of  rebel- 
lion against  thee  ?  It  is  not  this  or  that  action 
alone  I  have  to  lament.  My  whole  soul  has 
been  disordered  and  depraved.  All  my  thoughts, 
my  affections,  my  desires,  my  pursuits,  have  been 

Inquirer.  0 


82  THE  ANXIOUS   INQUIRER. 

alienated  from  thee.  I  have  not  loved  thee, 
thou  God  of  holy  love.  0  what  a  heart  have 
I  carried  in  my  bosom,  that  could  love  the 
world,  love  my  friends,  love  trifles,  yea,  love 
sin,  but  could  not  love  thee.  Particular  sins 
do  not  so  much  oppress  me  as  this  awful  horrid 
state  of  my  carnal  mind,  at  enmity  against  thee. 

0  what  patience  was  it  that  thou  didst  not 
crush  the  poor  feeble  creature  that  had  no 
virtue  to  love  thee,  and  no  power  to  resist  thee. 
My  whole  life  has  been  one  continued  state  of 
sin ;  what  seemed  good  was  done  from  no  good 
motive,  for  it  was  done  not  out  of  obedience  or 
love  to  thee,  and  with  no  intention  to  please  or 
to  glorify*  thee.  Once  I  thought  as  little  of 
my  sin  as  I  thought  of  that  gracious  and  right- 
eous God  against  whom  it  was  committed ;  and 
even  when  the  knowledge  of  sin  began  to  glim- 
mer on  the  dark  horizon  of  my  guilty  soul,  how 
perversely  did  I  resist  the  light,  and  how  de- 
ceitfully and  wickedly  and  presumptuously  did 

1  attempt  to  stand  up  in  judgment  with  thee, 
and  in  proud  self-confidence  plead  my  own 
cause.  0  with  what  lying  excuses,  with  what 
false  extenuations,  did  I  make  my  wickedness 
more  wicked,  and  tempt  thy  vengeance,  and 


ON  RETENTANCE.  83 

seek  to  draw  thj  thunderbolts  upon  my  devoted 
head.  Eternal  thanks  for  thy  marvellous  long- 
suffering,  and  thy  matchless  grace,  in  not  only 
bearing  with  my  provocations,  but  convincing 
me  of  my  folly.  Stripped  of  all  my  pleas,  silent 
as  to  every  excuse,  I  cast  myself  before  thee, 
uttering  only  that  one  confession.  Guilty,  guilty ; 
and  urging  only  that  one  plea,  Mercy,  mercy." 
3.  Repentance  includes  sorrow  for  sin.  If  a 
man  does  not  mourn  for  sin,  he  cannot  repent 
of  it.  The  apostle  speaks  of  "godly  sorrow," 
and  the  psalmist  exemplifies  it  in  the  fifty-first 
Psalm.  Awakened  and  anxious  sinner,  I  com- 
mend to  thine  especial  attention  that  affecting 
and  precious  effusion  of  David's  contrition. 
Read  it  often ;  read  it  upon  thy  knees  in  thy 
closet ;  read  it  as  thy  own  prayer  ;  read  it  till 
thy  heart  responds  a  sigh  to  every  groan  with 
which  each  verse  seems  still  vocal.  With  those 
melting  strains'  of  a  broken  heart  sounding  in 
thy  ears,  review  the  history  of  thy  life,  and  the 
dark  and  winding  course  of  thy  rebellion  against 
God.  Pause  and  ponder,  as  thou  tracest  back 
thy  steps  in  each  scene  of  thy  transgression  and 
God's  patience.  Dwell  upon  the  length  of  thy 
term  of  sin,  and  all  the  aggravations  of  that 


84  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUjREE. 

sin  derived  from  religious  advantages,  pious 
friends,  and  a  reproving  conscience.  Assail 
thy  hard  heart  with  motives  to  contrition  drawn 
from  every  view  of  God^s  mercy  and  thy  own 
ingratitude,  nor  cease  to  smite  the  rock  till  the 
waters  of  penitence  gush  forth.  Nor  let  thy 
sorrow  be  selfish ;  mourn  more  for  thy  sins  as 
committed  against  God,  than  against  thyself. 
Turn  again  to  the  fifty-first  Psalm,  and  see  how 
David  felt:  ''Against  thee,  thee  only,  have  I 
sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight."  Won- 
derful language  I  What  views  of  sin  were  then 
in  his  mind ;  and  0  what  views  of  God.  He 
had  seduced  Bathsheba  into  the  greatest  sin  a 
wife  can  commit;  he  had  murdered  her  hus- 
band ;  and  had  thus  committed  two  of  the  most 
enormous  evils  against  the  well-being  of  society ; 
and  yet  so  impressed  was  he  with  a  sense  of  his 
sin  as  committed  against  God,  that  he  exclaims, 
"Against  thee,  thee  only^  thou  lioly,  holy,  holy 
Lord  God,  have  I  sinned.  Against  thee,  my 
Benefactor,  who  didst  raise  me  from  the  sheep- 
fold  to  be  the  governor  of  thy  people.  Oh,  this 
is  the  crimson  hue  of  my  offence ;  this  is  the 
sting  of  my  remorse ;  this  is  the  wormwood  and 
the  gall  of  the  cup  of  bitterness  I  now  drink. 


ON  REPENTANCE.  65 

Thou  art  willing  to  forgive  me,  and  the  thought 
of  thy  mercy  blackens  my  crime,  and  deepens 
my  self-abhorrence."  This  is  godly  sorrow,  a 
grief  for  sin  as  sin,  and  as  committed  against 
so  holy  and  gracious  a  God,  and  not  merely  a 
grief  for  the  mischief  we  have  done  to  ourselves. 
Godly  sorrow  grieves  for  those  sins  which  God 
only  knows — for  those  sins  which  it  knows  he 
will  forgive,  yea,  which  it  is  assured  he  has  for- 
given ;  and  this  is  the  test  of  genuine  contri- 
tion. Do  we  mourn  for  sin  as  sin,  or  only  for 
fear  of  punishment  ? 

Repentance  includes  hatred  of  sin,  forsak- 
ing it,  and  a  determination  not  to  repeat  it.  No 
man  can  truly  repent  of  an  act  without  a  feel- 
ing of  dislike  to  that  act ;  these  two  cannot  be 
separated,  yea,  they  are  the  same  thing.  Ref- 
ormation produced  by  penitence  is  repentance. 
A  person  that  has  been  stung  by  a  serpent, 
will  not  caress  the  reptile  while  he  bathes  the 
wounds  he  has  inflicted  with  the  tears  of  sor- 
row ;  no,  he  will  destroy  the  viper,  or  flee  from 
him,  and  will  ever  after  be  inspired  with  fresh 
terror  and  dislike  of  the  whole  serpent  race. 
The  penitent  regards  sin  as  the  viper  that  has 
stung  him,  and  will  ever  after  hate  it,  dread 


86  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

it,  and  watch  against  it.  Practices  that  be- 
fore were  delighted  in,  will  be  abhorred  and 
shunned;  and  instead  of  trying  how  near  he 
may  come  to  them  without  committing  them, 
or  how  many  things  he  may  do  that  are  like 
them,  without  doing  the  very  things,  he  will 
try  how  far  he  can  retire  from  them,  and  how 
entirely  he  may  avoid  the  very  appearance  of 
evil.  Will  the  serpent-bitten  man  try  how 
near  he  can  approach  the  rattlesnake  without 
being  stung  again,  or  will  he  fondle  reptiles 
as  like  the  species  as  they  can  be,  though  they 
are  without  venom?  No.  Observe  how  re- 
pentance wrought  in  the  members  of  the  Corin- 
thian church :  "  For  behold  this  self-same  thing, 
that  ye  sorrowed  after  a  godly  sort,  what 
carefulness  it  wrought  in  you,  yea,  what  clear- 
ing of  yourselves,  yea,  what  indignation,  yea, 
what  fear,  yea,  what  vehement  desire,  yea, 
what  zeal,  yea,  what  revenge."    2  Cor.  7:11. 

Such  is  repentance. 

5ut  it  is  important  to  guard  the  inquirer 
against  some  perplexities  with  which  many 
are  very  apt  to  trouble  themselves  on  this 
subject. 

You  are  not  to  suppose  that  you  do  not 


ON  REPENTANCE.  87 

repent,  because  you  have  never  been  the  sub- 
ject of  overwhelming  terror  and  excessive 
grief.  Persons  in  the  first  stages  of  religious 
impressions,  are  very  apt  to  be  cast  down  and 
discouraged  because  they  do  not  feel  those  ago- 
nizing and  terrifying  convictions  that  some  of 
whom  they  have  heard  or  read  have  experi- 
enced. Others,  again,  are  greatly  troubled 
because  they  do  not  and  cannot  shed  tears  and 
utter  groans  under  a  sense  of  sin,  as  some  do. 
If  they  could  either  be  wrought  up  to  terror 
or  melted  into  weeping,  they  would  then  take 
some  comfort  and  have  some  hope  that  their 
convictions  were  genuine.  Now  it  is  very  prob- 
able that  youj  reader,  have  these  fears,  and  are 
laboring  under  some  mistakes  as  the  ground  of 
them. 

It  may  be  that  this  longing  after  greater 
terror  or  deeper  grief  may  spring  from  a  wrong 
motive.  If  you  possessed  these  feelings,  you 
would  be  comforted  and  have  hope,  you  think ; 
yes,  and  thus,  by  looking  to  your  own  feelings 
for  comfort,  make  a  Saviour  of  your  experience 
instead  of  Christ,  as  I  fear  many  do.  "  Oh,'' 
say  some,  or  if  they  do  not  say  it,  they  feel  it, 
"now  I  have  had  such  deep  convictions,  and 


88  THE  ANXIOUS  INQlTlRER. 

such  meltings  of  heart,  I  think  I  may  hope." 
But  is  not  this  putting  their  feelings  in  the 
place  of  the  work  of  Christ?  If  you  could 
endure  for  a  while  the  torments  of  hell  in  your 
conscience,  and  shed  all  the  tears  of  all  the 
penitents  in  the  world,  these  would  not  saye 
you ;  and  to  take  comfort  and  hope  from  these 
things,  would  be  resting  on  a  sandy  foundation. 
But  perhaps  you  think  this  deep  experience 
would  be  a  stronger  ground  of  confidence  to 
go  to  Christ.  Is  not  his  own  word,  then,  a 
sufficient  warrant?  Do  you  want  any  other 
warrant,  or  can  you  have  any  other?  Is  not 
his  invitation  and  promise  enough?  What  can 
your  feelings  add  to  this  ?  In  some  cases  there 
is  pride  at  the  bottom  of  this  longing  after 
terror  and  ^distress:  the  person  who  covets  it 
wishes  to  be  distinguished  among  Christians 
for  his  deep  experience  and  great  attainments, 
or  he  may  wish  to  have  something  of  his  own 
to  dwell  upon  with  pleasure,  a  something  that 
shall  embolden  him  in  his  approach  to  God ;  it 
is  in  fact  a  subtle  species  of  self-righteousness, 
a  looking  to  inward  feelings  if  not  to  good 
works,  as  something  to  depend  upon  and  to 
glory  in  before  God. 


ON  REPENTANCE.  89 

This  anxiety  may  arise  also  from  a  partial 
and  incorrect  view  of  the  nature  of  real  relig- 
ion. True  religion  is  not  a  matter  of  mere 
feeling  and  strong  emotion,  but  a  matter  of 
judgment  and  conscience  and  practical  princi- 
ple. You  must  recollect  that  the  minds  of 
men  are  variously  constituted  as  regards  sus- 
ceptibility of  emotion.  Some  persons  are  pos- 
sessed of  far  livelier  feelings  than  others,  and 
are  far  more  easily  moved ;  we  see  this  in  the 
common  subjects  of  life,  as  well  as  in  religion. 
One  man  feels  as  truly  the  affection  of  love  for 
his  wife  and  children  as  another  whose  love  is 
more  vehement,  though  he  may  not  fondle, 
caress,  and  talk  of  them  so  much ;  he  may  not 
even  suffer  those  paroxysms  of  alarm  when  any 
thing  ails  them,  nor  of  frantic  grief  when  they 
are  taken  from  him ;  but  he  loves  them  so  a^ 
to  prefer  them  to  all  others,  to  labor  for  them, 
to  make  sacrifices  for  their  comfort,  and  really 
to  grieve  when  they  are  removed.  Sis  love 
and  grief  are  as  sincere  and  practical,  though 
they  are  not  boisterous,  passionate,  and  noisy  ; 
his  principle  of  attachment  is  as  strong,  if  his 
passion  be  not  so  ardent.  Passion  depends  on 
constitutional  temperament,  but  principle  does 


90  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

not.  Mere  emotion,  therefore,  whether  in  relig- 
ion or  other  matters,  is  not  a  test  of  the  genu- 
ineness of  affection.  Do  not  then,  my  reader, 
be  troubled  on  this  matter;  your  religion  is 
not  to  be  tried  by  the  number  of  tears  you  shed, 
or  the  degree  of  terror  you  feel,  or  the  measure 
of  excitement  to  which  you  are  wrought  up; 
there  may  be  much  of  all  this  where  there  is 
Qot  true  repentance,  and  there  may  be  little  of 
it  where  there  is.  Are  you  clearly  instructed 
in  the  knowledge  of  God^s  holy  nature  and 
perfect  law,  so  as  distinctly  to  perceive  and 
really  to  feel  and  frankly  to  confess  your  num- 
berless sins  of  conduct  and  deep  depravity  of 
heart  ?  Do  you  truly  admit  your  just  desert 
of  that  curse  which  your  sins  have  brought 
upon  you  ?  Do  you  cast  away  all  excuses,  and 
take  the  whole  blame  of  your  sins  upon  your- 
self ?  Do  you  really  mourn  for  your  sins,  al- 
though you  may  shed  few  tears  or  utter  few 
broken  groans  ?  Do  you  confess  your  sins  to 
God  without  reserve,  as  well  as  without  excuse? 
Do  you  truly  hate  sin,  and  abhor  yourself  on 
account  of  sin  ?  Do  you  feel  a  repugnance  to 
sin,  a  watchfulness  against  it,  a  dread  of  it  in 
the  least  offences  ?    Have  you  a  new  and  grow- 


ON  REPENTAjTCE.  91 

ing  tenderness  of  conscience  with  respect  to 
sin  ?  Then  you  are  a  partaker  of  true  repent- 
ance, although  you  may  not  be  the  subject  of 
those  violent  emotions  either  of  terror  or  of 
grief,  which  some  have  experienced. 

I  do  not  for  a  moment  mean  to  throw  sus- 
picion over  the  experience  of  those  who  have 
been  called  to  pass  through  a  state  of  convic- 
tion which,  on  account  of  its  terrific  alarms 
and  unutterable  anguish,  may  be  called  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  By  no  means. 
God  has  led  some  of  his  people  not  only  hard 
by  the  clouds  and  blackness  and  thunders  and 
earthquakes  and  trumpet  and  awful  words  of 
Sinai,  but  as  it  were  by  the  very  brink  of  the 
burning  pit,  within  sight  of  its  flames,  and 
within  sound  of  its  wailings ;  but  let  no  man 
covet  such  a  road  to  glory — let  no  man  con- 
clude that  he  has  mistaken  the  road,  because 
he  has  not  witnessed  all  these  dreadful  scenes 
in  his  way.  All  must  pass  by  both  mount  Sinai 
and  Calvary  in  their  way  to  heaven,  but  the 
view  is  neither  so  clear  nor  so  impressive  to 
either  of  them  to  some,  as  to  others. 


92  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON  FAITH. 

Suppose  a  number  of  the  subjects  of  a  wise 
and  good  king  were,  without  auy  just  cause,  to 
rebel  against  him  and  take  up  arms  to  dethrone 
him ;  they  would,  by  that  act,  forfeit  their  lives. 
Still  the  sovereign,  in  his  great  clemency,  is 
disposed  to  pardon  them,  and  for  that  purpose 
sends  out  a  proclamation  declaring  that  all 
those  who,  before  a  fixed  time,  would  come  to 
him,  lay  down  their  arms,  confess  their  offence,- 
and  sue  for  mercy,  should  be  spared  and  re- 
stored to  their  privileges  as  citizens ;  but  that 
all  found  under  arms,  and  who  did  not  come 
and  cast  themselves  upon  the  mercy  of  their 
sovereign,  should  be  put  to  death.  What,  in 
this  case,  is  the  state  of  mind  and  act  required 
in  those  who  would  be  saved  ?  Faith.  They 
must  believe  the  proclamation  to  have  been 
issued  by  the  monarch,  and  that  he  will  really 
fulfil  his  word ;  they  must  not  only  believe  the 
edict  itself,  but  they  must  confide  in  the  mon 


ON   FAITH.  93 

arch ;  this  is  faith  in  him.  What  is  their  war- 
rant or  encouragement  to  go  to  him?  His 
proclamation  of  mercj,  and  that  alone;  and 
not  any  convictions  or  desires  of  their  own. 
If  any  one  of  the  rebels  were  desirous  of  return- 
ing, he  would  not  ^ay,  "  I  am  greatly  encour- 
aged and  truly  warranted  to  go,  and  expect 
forgiveness  because  I  am  very  anxious  to  be 
forgiven,"  for  his  desire  of  pardon  of  itself  is 
no  warrant  to  expect  it;  but  he  would  say, 
"  My  sovereign  has  bid  me  return,  and  prom- 
ised me  pardon:  I  have  his  word,  and  I  can 
trust  him ;  I  will  go,  therefore,  and  confidently 
expect  mercy."  He  goes,  and  although  he 
knows  that  he  has  forfeited  his  life  and  de- 
served death,  and  brought  himself  under  con- 
demnation, yet  he  is  assured  he  shall  be  spared 
because  the  king  has  promised  it,  and  he  trusts 
in  his  veracity.     This  is  faith. 

Does  his  faith  merit  forgiveness?  No,  but 
it  insures  it.  •  Can  the  man  boast  that  his 
works  have  saved  him?  No;  he  is  saved  by 
grace,  through  faith.  But  suppose,  when  he 
heard  the  proclamation  of  mercy,  he  was  merely 
convinced  of  his  sin,  and  in  some  measure  sorry 
for  it,  and  desired  forgiveness,  but  did  not  go 


94  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

to  his  sovereign :  suppose  he  were  to  say  to 
himself, ''  I  am  afraid  to  go ;  the  prince  is  power- 
ful, being  surrounded  by  his  guards  who  could 
destroy  me  in  a  moment,  and  I  have  been  such 
a  ringleader  in  the  rebellion  that  I  cannot  hope 
for  mercy,  although  I  long  for  it  and  would  do 
any  thing  to  obtain  it."  The  time  of  mercy 
expires;  the  man  is  taken  with  arms  in  his 
hands,  and  he  is  put  to  death.  Does  he  deserve 
to  die  ?  Yes,  twice  over :  first  for  his  rebellion, 
and  secondly  for  his  unbelief.  His  want  of 
faith,  not  his  rebellion,  was  the  actual  cause  of 
his  death.  His  sin  would  have  been  pardoned 
had  he  believed.  His  convictions,  his  sorrow, 
his  tears,  his  desire  after  pardon,  could  not 
save  him ;  he  had  insulted  his  sovereign  afresh, 
by  doubting  his  veracity  and  disobeying  his 
command. 

Awakened  sinner,  take  heed  that  this  is  not 
your  case.  It  is  the  case  of  many.  They  are 
rebels  against  God,  they  are  guilty  of  innumer- 
able sins.  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  John  3  :  16.  "  It  is  a  faith- 
ful saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that 


ON  FAITH.  95 

Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners." 1  Tim.  1 :  15.  Thus  runs  the  procla- 
mation of  mercy :  "  Repent  of  sin,  believe  in 
Christ,  expect  salvation."  Many  do  believe, 
and  are  saved ;  but  others,  and  there  are  mul- 
titudes, get  no  further  than  conviction;  they 
know  they  are  sinners,  they  desire  pardon,  and 
even  think  they  are  willing  to  forsake  their 
sins,  but  they  do  not  believe  in  Christ,  they  do 
not  return  to  God  by  faith  in  his  Son,  indulg- 
ing a  confident  hope  of  forgiveness ;  they  are 
afraid  to  go,  saying  their  sins  are  too  great  to 
be  forgiven,  or  they  are  contented  to  remain 
in  a  state  of  conviction ;  or,  before  they  have 
trusted  in  Christ  and  experienced  the  joys  of 
his  salvation  through  faith,  some  worldly  object 
draws  off  their  attention  from  the  Saviour,  and 
they  sink  into  a  state  of  carelessness,  and  grad 
ually  go  back  again  to  the  world. 

You  are  never  safe,  reader,  till  vou  have 
faith.  Whatever  may  have  been  your  tears, 
your  convictions,  prayers,  or  exercises  of  mind, 
you  are  under  the  sentence  of  the  law  and  ox- 
posed  to  the  wrath  of  God  till  you  believe.  If 
death  come  upon  you  before  you  have  faith, 
you. will  as  certainly  and  as  deservedly  perish 


96  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

as  the  rebel,  who,  though  he  had  expressed  his 
sorrow  for  his  treason,  had  not  come  in  and 
cast  down  his  arms,  and  accepted  the  royal 
mercy.  You  are  within  the  floodmark  of 
divine  vengeance  till  you  have  confided  your 
soul  to  Christ.  Can  we  be  saved,  if  we  are 
not  justified?  No.  But  we  are  "justified  by 
faith,"  and  ''have  peace  with  God."  Rom.  5 : 1'. 
Can  we  be  saved  unless  we  are  the  children  of 
God  ?  No.  But  "  we  are  all  the  children  of 
God,  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus."  Gal.  3  :  26. 
Can  we  be  saved  without  sanctification  ?  No, 
Then."  our  hearts  are  purified  by  faith."  When 
the  jailer  at  Philippi  asked  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling the  question,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?"  Paul  replied,  "Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  Acts 
16  :  30,  31.  When  our  Lord  sent  out  his  disci- 
ples, he  said  unto  them,  ",Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature. 
He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be 
damned."  Mark  16  :  15,  16.  It  is  also  said, 
in  another  place,  "  He  that  believeth  on  him  is 
not  condemned;  but  he  that  believeth  not  is 
condemned  already,  because  he  hath  not .  be- 


ON  FAITH.  97 

lieved  on  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting life ;  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son 
shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  him.''  John  3  :  18,  36.  "  He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in  himself: 
he  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  him  a 
liar,  because  he  believeth  not  the  record  that 
God  gave  of  his  Son."  1  John,  5  :  10.  See 
then  the  importance,  the  tremendous  impor- 
tance, of  faith  in  Christ.  It  is  the  hinge  on 
which  salvation  turns ;  it  is  that,  without  which 
all  knowledge,  and  all  impressions,  and  all 
convictions,  and  all  duties,  will  leave  us  short 
of  heaven  at  last.  Fix  it  deeply  in  your  mind, 
therefore,  that  faith  is  the  saving  geace,  or 
in  other  words,  it  is  that  state  of  mind  with 
which  salvation  is  connected;  being  brought 
into  this  state,  you  would  be  saved  though  you 
died  the  next  hour,  and  without  this  you  would 
not  be  saved,  even  had  you  been  for  years 
under  the  deepest  concern. 

But  you  will  probably  wish  to  know  a  little 
more  about  this  transcendently  important  state 
of  mind ;  and  I  shall  therefore  set  before  you, 

1.  What  you  are  to  believe.     Faith  in  gen- 

Inqolrer.  / 


98  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

eral  means,  a  belief  of  whatever  God  has  testi- 
fied in  his  word ;  but  faith  in  Christ  nleans,  the 
belief  of  what  the  Scripture  saith  of  him,  ol 
his  person,  offices,  and  work.  You  are  to  be- 
lieve that  he  is  "  the  Son  of  God,"  "  God  manifest 
in  the  flesh,"  God-man,  Mediator ;  for  how  can 
a  mere  creature  be  your  Saviour?  In  faith, 
you  commit  your  soul  to  the  Lord  Jesus.  What 
into  the  hands  of  a  mere  creature  ?  The  divin 
ity  of  Christ  is  thus  not  merely  an  article  ol 
faith,  but  enters  also  into  the  foundation  of 
hope.  You  are  required  to  believe  in  the  doc- 
trine of  atonement ;  that  Christ  satisfied  divine 
justice  for  human  guilt,  having  been  made  a 
propitiation  for  our  sins;  and  that  now  his 
sacrifice  and  righteousness  are  the  only  ground 
or  foundation  on  which  a  sinner  can  be  accept- 
ed and  acquitted  before  God.  You  are  to  be- 
lieve that  all,  however  previously  guilty  and 
unworthy,  are  welcome  to  God  for  salvation, 
without  any  exception  or  any  difficulty  what- 
ever. You  are  to  believe  that  God  really  loves 
the  world,  and  is  truly  willing  and  waiting  to 
save  the  chief  of  sinners,  and  that  he  therefore 
loves  you ;  and  thus,  instead  of  dwelling  in  the 
idea  of  a  mere  general  or  universal  love,  you 


ON  TAITH.  99 

are  to  bring  the  matter  home  to  yourself,  and 
to  believe  that  God  has  good-will  towards  you, 
has  given  Christ  to  die  for  you.  You  are  a 
part  of  the  world  which  God  loved,  and  for 
which  Christ  died,  and  you  are  not  to  lose 
yourself  in  the  crowd.  You  are  not  to  con- 
sider the  scheme  of  redemption  as  for  any  body 
or  for  every  body  besides  yourself;  but  you 
are  to  give  the  whole  an  individual  bearing 
upon  yourself.  You  are  to  say,  *'  God  is  well 
disposed  towards  me ;  Christ  is  given  for  me, 
died  for  me  as  well  as  for  others ;  I  am  invited ; 
I  shall  be  saved  if  I  trust  in  Christ ;  and  I  am 
as  welcome  as  any  one  to  Christ."  Faith  is 
not  a  belief  in  your  own  personal  religion — 
this  is  the  assurance  of  hope — ^but  it  is  a  belief 
that  God  loves  sinners,  and  that  Christ  died 
for  sinners,  and  for  you  among  the  rest ;  it  is 
not  a  belief  that  you  are  a  real  Christian,  but 
that  Christ  is  willing  to  give  you  all  the  bless- 
ings included  in  that  term;  it  is  the  belief  of 
something  out  of  yourself,  but  still  of  something 
concerning  yourself.  The  object  of  faith  is  the 
work  of  Christ  for  you,  not  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  in  you.  It  is  of  great  consequence  that 
you  should  attend  to  this,  because  many  are 


100  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

apt  to  confound  these  things.  If  I  promise  a 
man  alms,  and  he  really  believes  what  I  say, 
and  expects  relief,  I,  in  the  act  of  promising 
him,  am  the  object  of  his,  faith,  and  not  the 
state  of  his  own  mind  in  the  act  of  believing. 
If  therefore  you  would  have  faith,  or  possessing 
it,  would  have  it  strengthened,  you  must  fix  and 
keep  your  eye  on  the  testimony  of  Christ  whic4 
you  find  in  the  gospel. 

2.  I  will  now  show  you  how  you  are  to  be- 
lieve. But  is  this  necessary?  There  is  no 
mystery  in  faith  when  we  speak  of  believing  a 
fellow-creature.  When  the  rebel  is  required 
to  believe  in  the  proclamation  of  mercy  sent 
out  by  his  sovereign,  and  to  come  and  sue  for 
pardon;  or  when  the  beggar  is  required  to 
believe  in  the  promise  of  a  benefactor  who  has 
tendered  him  relief,  does  it  enter  into  his  mind 
to  ask  hmjo  he  is  to  believe  ?  What  in  each  of 
these  cases  does  faith  mean  ?  A  belief  that  the 
promise  has  been  made,  and  a  confidence  in  the 
person  who  made  it  that  he  will  fulfil  his  word. 
Behold  then  the  whole  mystery  there  is  in  faith. 
It  is  a  belief  that  Christ  really  died  for  sinners, 
that  all  who  depend  upon  him  alone  shall  be 
saved ;  and  a  trust  in  him  for  salvation.     Yes, 


ON  FAITH.  101 

it  is,  if  we  may  substitute  another  word  as  ex- 
planatory of  faith,  it  is  trust  in  Christ.  Faith, 
and  confidence  in  Christ,  are  the  same  thing. 
"  I  know  whom  I  have  believed,"  says  the  apostle, 
"and  am  persuaded  he  is  able  to  keep  that 
which  I  have  committed  to  him.''  2  Tim.  1 :12. 
Believing,  being  persuaded,  and  the  act  of  com- 
mitting, are  the  same  act ;  they  all  mean  faith. 
It  is  to  rest  upon  the  word  and  work  of  Christ 
for  salvation;  to  depend  upon  his  atonement 
and  righteousness,  and  upon  nothing  else,  for 
acceptance  with  God ;  and  really  to  expect  sal- 
vation because  he  has  promised  it.  If  there  be 
no  expectation,  there  is  no  faith ;  for  faith  in  a 
man's  promise  necessarily  implies  expectation 
of  its  fulfilment.  This,  then,  is  faith — looking 
for  or  expecting  salvation  for  the  sake  of 
Christ's  work  alone,  and  because  God  has  prom- 
ised it. 

If  you  want  another  illustration,  take  the 
case  of  the  serpent-bitten  Israelites.  Num. 
21 : 4-9 ;  John  3 :  14.  The  people  who  were  stung 
were  commanded  to  look  on  the  brazen  serpent. 
Those  who  really  believed  the  promise  that 
such  an  act  would  be  followed  with  healing, 
went  out  and  looked  at  the  appointed  mean3  of 


102  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

relief:  their  looking  was  their  believing ;  and 
what  did  that  look  imply  ?  Expectation.  They 
who  did  not  look,  did  not  expect  healing ;  and 
they  who  did  look,  expected  relief.  If  there- 
fore you  are  not  brought  to  expect  salvation, 
you  do  not  believe,  for  as  soon  as  you  really 
believed  you  would  indulge  the  expectation  of 
salvation.  "Faith  is  the  substance,"  or  confi- 
dent expectation,  "  of  things  hoped  for."  Heb. 
11:1.  Expectation  of  salvation  for  Christ^s 
sake  alone,  and  because  he  has  promised  it, 
being  faith,  faith  may  be  said  to  be  weak  or 
strong  in  proportion  as  our  expectation  is  more 
or  less  confident,  and  free  from  doubts  and 
fears. 

3.  But  WHEN  is  a  sinner  to  believe  ?  Strange 
question !  and  yet  one  that  it  is  necessary  to 
answer,  because  it  is  sometimes  asked.  Sup- 
pose, if  when  you  promised  alms  to  a  poor  starv- 
ing beggar,  or  forgiveness  to  a  person  that  had 
injured  you,  either  of  these  persons  were  to  ask, 
'•  When  am  I  to  believe  your  promise  ?"  would 
you  not  feel  some  surprise  at  the  question? 
The  very  nature  of  the  case  suggests  the  pro- 
priety and  necessity  of  immediate  faith.  Your 
veracity  is  as  great  at  that  moment  as  it  ever 


ON  FAITH.  103 

will  be,  and  therefore  demands  instant  con- 
fidence. Suppose  the  beggar  were  to  say,  "I 
do  not  yet  sufficiently  feel  my  poverty  to  be- 
lieve you  now ;  but  when  I  am  more  pinched 
with  hunger,  I  will  take  you  at  your  word  and 
come."  Would  not  this  be  exceedingly  pre- 
posterous? And  yet  this  is  the  very  conduct 
of  many  persons  in  reference  to  Christ  and 
faith  in  him  for  salvation.  They  know  that 
trust  in  him  alone  is  necessary  to  salvation,  that 
they  must  at  length  come;  but  they  seem  to 
regard  it  rather  as  an  exercise  or  state  of  mind 
to  which  they  are  to  be  brought  at  some  future 
time,  and  by  some  means,  they  know  not  how, 
than  as  a  duty  to  be  immediately  performed. 
Their  inward  feeling  is  a  hope  that  they  shall 
have  faith  some  time  or  other,  without  ever 
once  imagining  that  they  are  required  at  once, 
and  without  delay,  to  commit  their  soul  to 
Christ. 

Do,  reader,  reflect  upon  this  matter,  this  ne- 
cessity of  instantly  believing.  Are  you  now  a 
sinner  ?  You  know  you  are.  Can  you  do  any 
thing  now  or  hereafter,  without  divine  aid,  to 
save  yourself?  You  know  you  cannot.  Is 
Christ  now  a  Saviour,  able  and  willing  to  save 


104  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

you  now  ?  You  know  he  is.  Will  lie  be  more 
able  or  willing  to  save  you  a  month  or  a  year 
hence,  than  he  is  at  this  moment?  Certainly 
not.  Does  he  say,  "  Come  unto  me,  not  now, 
but  at  some  future  time ;  believe  me,  but  not 
yet ;  trust  in  me  after  a  while  V^  You  know 
he  does  not.  Every  invitation,  every  promise, 
every  encouragement,  relates  to  the  present 
moment.  The  words  of  Scripture  are,  "  To-day 
if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts. 
Now  is  the  accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation.  Come,  for  all  things  are  ready.  He 
is  waiting  to  be  gracious."  What  prevents, 
but  that  you  now,  as  you  read  this,  believe  in 
Christ  ?  What  hinders  you,  except  your  own 
unwillingness,  from  this  moment  trusting  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  for  salvation  ?  What,  now  ?  you 
say,  still  startled  at  the  idea  of  instantly  taking 
to  your  anxious  bosom  the  sweet  and  cheering 
hope  of  salvation.  "Why  not  now?"  I  ask. 
"Would  God,"  you  are  ready  to  say,  "I  could, 
for  I  have  no  peace  of  mind :  I  feel  that  I  am 
a  sinner,  and  yet  am  distressed  at  times  that  I 
do  not  feel  this  enough.  I  am  agitated  and 
perplexed,  for  I  have  no  reason  to  hope  my  sins 
are  forgiven.    I  cannot  approach  God  as  a  rec- 


ON  FAITH.  105 

onciled  Father;  on  the  contrary  I  am  afraid 
of  him,  and  fear  if  I  were  to  die  I  should  not 
meet  him  in  peace." 

Permit  me  here  to  remind  you,  that  you  never 
can  be  at  peace  till  you  have  faith ;  peace  is  the 
fruit  of  faith.  Observe  what  the  apostle  has 
said:*'' In  whom,  though  now  ye  see  him  not, 
yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory."  1  Pet.  1 :8.  It  is  said  of 
the  Philippian  jailer,  "he  rejoiced,  believing  in 
God."  Acts  16 :  34.  You  never  can  have  settled 
peace  of  mind,  except  it  be  a  false  peace,  till 
you  believe  in  Christ:  you  are  seeking  it  in 
various  ways,  and  occasionally  obtain  a  short 
pause  to  your  solicitude  by  prayer,  by  hearing 
sermons,  by  dwelling  on  what  you  suppose  are 
evidences  of  your  conversion,  by  fully  purpos- 
ing to  leave  off  your  sins  and  to  serve  God 
more  entirely.  But  notwithstanding  all  this, 
you  are  not  in  possession  of  settled  comfort. 
Your  joy  is  more  like  an  occasional  flash  from 
a  taper  in  a  dark  night,  than  steady  sunshine ; 
so  that  sometimes  you  are  ready  to  give  up  re- 
ligion altogether,  and  turn  back  again  to  the 
world ;  for  you  seem  to  be  as  far  from  comfort 
as  ever.    But  stop  and  ask  this  question,  "Am 


106  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER/ 

I  seeking  peace  in  the  right  way?  Have  I 
ever  jet  really,  fully,  and  entirely  believed  in 
Christ?  Have  I  truly  committed  my  soul  to 
him,  and  expected  salvation  according  to  his 
promise  ?"  What  is  to  give  peace  to  a  sinner 
feeling  the  burden  of  guilt  upon  his  conscience  ? 
What  is  to  relieve  his  distress  ?  Nothing  but 
faith  in  Christ ;  not  the  faith  itself,  but  the  ob- 
ject which  faith  looks  at,  which  is  Christ.  Many 
are  saying,  "If  I  did  but  know  that  I  had  faith, 
or  if  I  could  feel  my  faith  stronger,  I  could  then 
rejoice."  But  this  is  seeking  peace  in  faith 
itself,  instead  of  seeking  it  by  faith  in  Christ. 
Faith  is  not  our  Saviour,  but  only  the  eye  that 
looks  to  him,  the  foot  that  goes  to  him,  the 
hand  that  receives  him. 

Take  an  illustration :  Imagine  that  you  were 
afflicted  with  some  dangerous  disease,  and  anx- 
ious for  recovery ;  in  the  midst  of  your  solici- 
tude, and  after  trying  all  kinds  of  remedies 
without  effect,  a  physician  comes  in  and  says, 
"  I  have  brought  you  an  infallible  cure  for  your 
complaint ;  it  has  cured  thousands,  and  will  most , 
certainly  cure  you."  What  would  be  the  effect 
of  this  communication  upon  you  ?  Just  accord- 
ing to  the  state  of  your  mind  in  reference  to 


ON  FAITH.  107 

the  report  which  the  physician  gives  of  his 
medicine.  If  your  anxiety  about  recovery,  and 
your  fear  of  not  obtaining  a  cure,  were  greater 
than  your  faith,  you  would  gain  no  peace ;  the 
want  of  confidence  in  the  medicine  would  keep 
you  in  deep  solicitude.  But  suppose  you  were 
to  believe  the  statement  of  your  medical  friend, 
and  had  full  confidence  in  the  remedy,  what 
then  would  be  the  eJGfect  of  the  report  ?  You 
would  immediately  rejoice ;  you  would  not  wait 
till  you  had  taken  the  medicine,  and  till  you 
felt  yourself  cured,  before  your  solicitude  was 
relieved;  no,  but  as  soon  as  you  believed  in 
the  efficacy  of  the  remedy  you  would  say,  "Joy- 
ful news;  I  am  to  be  healed,  and  restored  to 
health."  Now,  what  in  this  case  relieves  you 
from  your  solicitude,  and  gives  you  comfort? 
The  statement  of  your  friend,  or  in  other  words, 
faith  in  that  statement.  The  good  news  of  a 
coming  cure,  believed  by  you,  makes  you  glad. 
It  is  not  the  act  of  believing  that  you  rejoice 
in,  but  the  statement  believed.  You  would 
immediately  take  the  medicine ;  and  then  when 
you  experienced  its  healing  influence  you  would 
rejoice  still  more.  Your  joy  in  this  case  would 
be  of  two  kinds :  the  first  is  the  joy  of  faith,  in 


108  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

the  assurance  that  you  would  be  cured;  tte 
second  is  tlie  joy  of  experience,  in  finding  that 
you  are  cured. 

Apply  this  to  the  case  of  a  sinner  who  feels 
his  miserable  condition  under  the  power  and 
guilt  of  sin.  In  his  anxiety  he  tries  various 
methods  to  obtain  relief:  he  leaves  off  sin,  and 
tries  to  be  good;  but  a  sense  of  unpardoned 
sin  still  lies  upon  his  heart,  and  he  is  far  off 
from  settled  comfort.  In  this  situation,  Christ 
the  physician  of  souls  comes  to  him  in  the  mes- 
sage of  the  gospel,  and  says,  "My  blood  cleans- 
eth  from  all  sin,  and  my  Spirit  can  renew  and 
sanctify  the  hardest  and  most  polluted  heart; 
look  to  me,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.''  What 
is  the  duty  of  the  sinner  in  this  case  ?  Imme- 
diately and  fully  to  believe,  and  at  once,  as 
the  evidence  and  necessary  fruit  of  his  faith, 
to  rejoice.  If  he  really  does  believe ;  he  will 
rejoice ;  and  if  he  do  not  rejoice,  it  is  because 
he  dojes  not  believe.  He  is  not  to  wait  till  he 
is  saved,  before  he  takes  comfort;  but  he  is  to 
take  comfort  in  the  first  place,  in  believing 
that  there  is  a  Saviour,  and  that  he  may  be 
saved.  He  is  not  to  wait  for  his  comfort  till 
he  feels  that  he  is  justified,  renewed,  and  sane- 


OK  FAITH.  109 

tilled ;  for  how  can  lie  come  to  this  state  unless 
he  believes?  His  first  comfort  must  be  the 
joy  of  faith,  and  this  he  must  take  to  himself 
at  once ;  the  joy  of  experience  comes  afterwards. 
He  must  first  rejoice  in  the  promise  of  spiritual 
healing,  and  then  afterwards  he  will  rejoice  in 
the  sense  of  healing.  When  the  Jews  who 
were  pricked  to  the  heart  by  Peter's  sermon, 
cried  out  in  agony,  "  What  shall  we  do  V^  he 
replied,  "  Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of 
you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sin :  then  they  that  gladly  received  the 
word  were  baptized."  Acts  2  :  37-41.  They 
gladly  received  the  word,  that  is,  they  believed 
the  promise,  and  were  made  glad.  Here  was 
immediate  faith,  producing  instant  joy:  they 
did  not  wait  till  they  felt  they  were  saved,  but 
rejoiced  at  once.  Now  observe  another  case : 
Paul,  in  one  of  his  epistles,  says,  "  Our  rejoic- 
ing is  this,  that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sin- 
cerity, not  with  fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the 
grace  of  God,  we  have  had  our  conversation 
in  the  world."  2  Cor.  1 :  12.  Here  is  the  joy 
of  experience.  It  is  the  peace  of  believing 
that  the  inquirer  has  to  do  with  ;  and  is  it  not 
cause  enough  of  delight  that  God  has  so  loved 


110  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

the  world,  and  you  as  a  part  of  the  world,  as 
to  give  his  Son  for  your  salvation;  that  you 
are  invited ;  that  Christ  is  able  and  willing  to 
save  you  ?  But  still  you  cling  to  the  idea,  that 
if  you  could  be  sure  you  believed,  you  would 
be  comforted ;  if  you  had  evidence  of  faith,  you 
would  take  peace.  Then  it  would  be  these 
evidences  that  would  comfort  you,  and  not  the 
work  of  Clirist. 

It  is  also  of  importance  that  you  should 
clearly  understand  that  you  are  never  in  a 
state  of  faith,  if  you  are  not  brought  to  some 
degree  of  comfort — if  you  still  feel  the  load  of 
guilt  upon  your  conscience,  and  all  its  torment- 
ing fears  in  your  mind — if  you  are  still  anx- 
iously asking  the  question,  "  What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?"  If  you  are  still  afraid  of  God, 
if  you  still  are  without  any  hope  of  forgiveness, 
you  do  not  believe ;  for  genuine  faith,  even 
though  it  were  not  a  full  assurance,  would  in 
some  measure  relieve  you  from  this  anxiety. 
It  is  very  common  for  persons  to  say  they  be- 
lieve, and  yet  have  no  comfort ;  and  then  they 
are  asking,  "Why  am  I  not  at  peace?"  Be- 
cause you  really  do  not  believe  in  Christ ;  yon 
are  deceiving  yourself.    It  is  faith,  genuine 


ON  FAITH.  Ill 

faith,  you  want ;  you  do  not  yet  really  trust  in 
Christ ;  you  do  not  yet  truly  believQ  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation ;  for  can  any  man  believe 
glad  tidings  concerning  himself,  and  yet  not 
be  made  glad  by  them  ?  Believe  then,  believe 
truly,  believe  now,  and  enter  into  peace. 


11^  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MISTAKES  INTO  WHICH  INQUIRERS  ARE  APT 
TO  FALL. 

In  an  affair  of  siicli  tremendous  consequence 
as  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  it  is  important  that 
every  error  of  any  moment  into  which  inquir- 
ers are  in  danger  of  falling  should  be  clearly 
pointed  out  to  them.  Satan  is  called  the  father 
of  lies,  and  when  his  delusive  influence  is  added 
to  the  natural  deceitfulness  of  the  human  heart, 
the  danger  of  mistake  is  great  indeed.  Our 
caution  against  errors  should  of  course  be  in 
proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  -conse- 
quences they  draw  after  them.  Oh  how  awful 
is  the  idea  of  committing  a  fundamental  error 
in  religious  matters,  and  persevering  in  that 
error  till  death;  we  shall  then  have  eternity 
to  deplore  it,  but  never  a  moment  to  correct 
it.  Oh  how  dreadful  to  die  and  find  ourselves 
mistaken  as  to  our  character  and  destiny.  But 
even  where  the  error  is  not  of  so  serious  a 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  113 

nature,  it  may  still  be  the  source  of  mucli  dis- 
quietude. 

1.  The  first  error,  and  it  is  both  a  very  com- 
mon and  a  very  dreadful  one,  which  inquirers 
are  in  danger  of  committing,  is,  to  mistake 
knowledge,  impression,  and  partial  reformation, 
for  genuine  conversion.  In  this  day  of  prevailing 
evangelical  preaching  and  religious  instruc- 
tion, where  there  is  no  persecution  to  try  men^s 
sincerity,  and  even  much  credit  attaching  to  a 
profession  of  religion,  there  is  most  imminent 
danger  of  self-delusion.  The  preaching  of  the 
present  day  is  of  an  exciting  and  impressive 
character,  which,  added  to  the  tendency  of  a 
religious  education  to  give  knowledge,  is  very 
likely  to  produce  a  state  of  feeling  that  may 
be  mistaken  for  conversion.  Ignorant  friends, 
anxious  parents,  and  even  injudicious  ministers, 
who  are  too  eager  to  swell  the  number  of  their 
communicants,  upon  perceiving  a  little  impres- 
sion of  mind  and  a  little  alteration  of  conduct 
in  young  people,  or  in  others,  may  express  a 
favorable  opinion  of  their  conversion,  flatter 
them  into  a  belief  that  they  are  safe,  engage 
them  too  hastily  to  make  a  public  profession 
of  religion,  and  receive  the  Lord^s  supper,  while 


114  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  the  great  change 
has  never  been  wrought ;  and  thus  the  soul  is 
in  all  probability  sealed  up  in  delusion  to  eter- 
nal perdition.  Nothing  can  now  awaken  them ; 
for  although  their  impressions  die  away,  and 
they  become  almost  as  careless  and  as  worldly 
as  ever,  and  live  under  the  dominion  of  sin; 
yet  they  have  made  a  profession  of  religion, 
have  been  led  to  believe  they  are  Christians, 
and  therefore  repress  every  rising  fear,  and 
stifle  every  incipient  alarm.  Fatal  case,  and 
it  is  the  case  of  multitudes. 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  set  before  you  how 
far  persons  may  go,  and  not  be  really  con- 
verted. They  may  have  many  and  deep  im- 
pressions, many  and  strong  convictions;  they 
may  have  much  knowledge  of  their  sinful  state, 
and  a  heavy  and  burdensome  sense  of  their 
guilt ;  they  may  look  back  upon  their  past  life 
and  conduct  with  much  remorse ;  they  may  be 
sorry  for  their  sins,  and  may  desire  to  be  saved 
from  the  consequences  of  them,  being  much 
alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  the  torments  of 
hell.  Was  not  Judas  convinced  of  sin,  and 
did  he  not  weep  bitterly  and  confess  his  sin, 
and  was  he  not  filled  with  remorse?    Was 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIREUS.  115 

not  Cain  convinced  of  sin?  I  have  known 
many  persons  who  at  one  time  appeared  to 
be  more  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  sin, 
and  to  have  stronger  convictions  and  remorse 
than  those  who  were  truly  converted,  and  yet 
they  went  back  again  to  the  world  and  sin. 

Nor  is  a  detestation  of  sin  always  a  true  sign 
of  conversion.  Hazael,  before  he  was  king  of 
Syria,  detested  those  very  crimes  which  he 
afterwards  perpetrated  in  the  fulness  of  hl^ 
pride  and  power.  Unconverted  persons  may 
even  wish  to  be  delivered  from  the  fetters  of 
those  corrupt  lusts  which  have  long  held  them 
fast.  There  are  few  notorious  sinners  who  do 
not  frequently  hate  their  sins,  and  wish  and 
purpose  to  reform.  Yea,  persons  may  some- 
times desire  to  be  delivered  from  all  sin;  at 
least,  they  may  desire  it  in  a  certain  way,  be- 
cause they  think  that  it  is  necessary  in  order 
to  be  saved  from  hell. 

And  as  conviction  of  sin  may  exist  without 
conversion,  so  may  religious  joy.  The  stony 
ground  hearers  heard  the  word,  and  with  joy 
received  it ;  and  yet  they  had  no  root  in  them- 
selves, and  endured  only  for  a. while.  Matt. 
13:20,  21.    The  Galatians  had  great  blessed- 


116  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

ness  at  one  time,  which  the  apostle  was  afraid 
had  come  to  nothing.  Gal.  4 :  15.  Multitudes 
rejoiced  in  Christ  when  he  made  his  entrance 
into  Jerusalem,  who  afterwards  became  his 
enemies.  A  person  may  admire  the  people  of 
God,  and  covet  to  be  of  their  number,  as  Ba- 
laam did,  and  yet  not  really  belong  to  them. 
Many  take  great  pleasure  in  hearing  sermons, 
and  going  to  prayer-meetings,  and  singing 
hymns,  and  frequenting  missionary  and  other 
public  meetings,  who  are  not  truly  born  of  the 
Spirit. 

So  also  do  many  persons  leave  off  sinful  actions, 
and  give  up  many  wicked  practices,  and  seem 
to  be  quite  altered  for  a  time,  who  yet,  by  their 
subsequent  history,  show  that  they  are  not  con- 
verted. There  may  be  considerable  zeal  for  the 
outward  concerns  of  religion,  as  we  see  in  Jehu, 
without  any  right  state  of  mind  towards  God. 
Many  have  had  great  confidence  of  the  reality 
of  their  conversion — they  have  had  dreams,  im- 
pressions, and  an  inward  witness,  as  they  sup- 
pose— who  too  plainly  proved  by  their  after  con- 
duct that  they  were  under  an  awful  delusion. 
But  it  would  be  almost  endless  to  point  out  the 
various  ways  in  which  men  deceive  themselves 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  117 

as  to  their  state.  Millions  who  ha.ve  been  some- 
what, yea,  much  concerned  about  religion,  have 
never  been  born  again  of  the  Spirit.  Perhaps 
more  are  lost  by  self-deception  than  by  any  other 
means.  Hell  resounds  with  the  groans  and 
lamentations  of  souls  that  perished  through  the 
power  of  a  deceived  heart. 

Do,  do  examine  yourself.  Exercise  godly 
jealousy  over  your  own  state.  Never  forget 
that  nothing  short  of  the  new  birth  will  save 
you.  ^'Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of 
the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  John  3:5.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ 
he  is  a  new  creature;  old  things  are  passed 
away;  behold,  all  things  are  become  new.'' 
2  Cor.  5 :17.  The  heart  must  be  changed,  en- 
tirely changed.  We  must  be  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  our  mind.  There  must  be  a  super- 
human, a  divine,  a  total  alteration  of  disposition. 
Our  views  and  tastes,  our  pains  and  pleasures, 
hopes  and  fears,  desires  and  pursuits,  must  be 
changed.  We  must  be  brought  to  love  God  su- 
premely for  his  holiness  and  justice,  as  well  as 
for  his  mercy  and  love  in  Christ — to  delight  in 
him  for  his  transcendent  glory,  as  well  as  for 
his  rich  grace ;  we  must  have  a  perception  of 


118  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

the  beauties  of  holiness,  and  love  divine  things 
for  their  own  excellence;  we  must  mourn  for 
sin,  and  hate  it  for  its  own  evil  nature,  as  well 
as  its  dreadful  punishment;  we  must  feel  de- 
light in  the  salvation  of  Christ,  not  only  be- 
cause it  delivers  us  from  hell,  but  makes  us  like 
God,  and  all  this  in  a  way  that  honors  and 
glorifies  Jehovah ;  we  must  be  made  partakers 
of  true  humility  and  universal  love,  and  feel 
ourselves  brought  to  be  of  one  mind  with  God 
in  willing  and  delighting  in  the  happiness  ot 
others ;  we  must  be  brought  to  feel  an  identity 
of  heart  with  God^s  cause,  and  to  regard  it  as 
our  honor  and  happiness  to  do  any  thing  to 
promote  the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  salvation  of 
sinners ;  we  must  feel  a  longing  desire,  a  hun- 
gering and  thirsting  after  holiness,  as  well  as 
a  disposition  to  put  away  all  sin,  however  gain- 
ful or  pleasant ;  we  must  have  a  tender  con- 
science that  shrinks  from,  and  watches  against 
little  sins,  secret  faults,  and  sins  of  neglect  and 
omission,  as  well  as  great  and  scandalous 
offences ;  we  must  love  the  people  of  God  for 
God's  sake,  because  they  belong  to  him  and  are 
like  him;  we  must  practise  the  self-denying 
duty  of  mortification  of  sin,  as  well  as  engage 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUlliEES.  119 

in  the  pleasing  exercises  of  religion.  This  is 
to  be  born  again ;  it  is  no  mere  transient  im- 
pression upon  the  imagination,  but  it  is  a  per- 
manent renewal  of  the  disposition ;  it  is  not  an 
occasional  impulse,  but  an  abiding  character : 
the  subject  of  it  may  not  be  violently  agitated, 
but  he  is  lastingly  altered ;  his  passions  may 
not  be  powerfully  moved,  but  his  principles, 
tastes,  and  pursuits  are  engaged  on  the  side  of 
true  holiness.  He  is  now  a  spiritual  man, 
whereas  he  was  a  carnal  one,  and  all  things 
are  by  him  spiritually  discerned.  Nothing 
short  of  this  entire  change  of  heart,  this  com 
plete  renovation,  must  satisfy  you;  for  nothing 
less  than  such  a  view  of  Christ  in  his  glorious 
mediatorial  character,  and  such  a  dependence  by 
faith  upon  his  blood  and  righteousness  for  sal- 
vation, as  changes  the  whole  heart  and  temper 
and  conduct,  and  throws  the  world  as  it  were 
into  the  background,  and  makes  glory  here- 
after, and  holiness  now,  the  supreme  concern, 
is  religion. 

2.  Inquirers  are  often  in  error  on  the  sub- 
ject of  their  immediate  obligation  to  believe, 
and  go  to  Christ;  and  are  waitings  as  they, 
say,  for  a  day  of  power  at  the  pool  of  ordinan- 


12a  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

ces,*  Tliey  are  seeking  and  praying,  but  they 
have  no  idea  that  it  is  their  present  duty,  with- 
out waiting  another  hour,  to  give  themselves 
to  Christ.  They  are  expecting  some  sensible 
impression  or  impulse  upon  their  mind  to  make 
known  to  them  when  it  is  their  duty  to  believe, 
and  also  enable  them  to  believe.  They  sup- 
pose it  will  be  made  clear  to  them,  as  it  was 
to  the  cripples  by  the  troubling  of  the  waters, 
that  they  are  no  longer  to  wait,  but  then  to 
descend  into  the  pool  of  salvation. 

Now  this  is  a  most  grievous  and  injurious 
error,  and  keeps  many  minds  for  a  long  period 
in  great  distress,  and  actually  prevents  some 
from  coming  to  Christ  at  all.  I  must  first  tell 
you,  that  it  is  an  unwarrantable  use  of  Scrip- 
ture to  consider  the  pool  of  Bethesda  as  an 
emblem  of  the  healing  of  sinners  by  the  work 
of  Christ,  and  the  situation  of  the  diseased 
persons  waiting  for  the  healing  visit  of  the 
angel,  as  descriptive  of  the  duty  of  sinners  to 
wait  for  some  impulse  or  power  from  above, 

*  There  is  in  this  chapter  a  repetition  of  some  of  the 
ideas  and  even  expressions  contained  in  a  former  sec- 
tion, but  it  is  on  a  subject  of  so  much  importance  that 
I  do  not  choose  to  suppress  them. 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  12] 

before  they  believe.  The  fact  was  related  to 
show  the  power  and  glory  of  Christ  in  work- 
ing a  miraculous  cure.  Where  in  all  the  New 
Testament  are  sinners  told  to  wait  till  some 
future  time  before  they  believe?  Where  is 
it  said,  Believe,  but  not  now;  hope,  but  not 
now ;  wait  for  some  power  or  impulse  to  en- 
able you  to  believe  ?  On  the  contrary,  is  it 
not  said,  "To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice, 
harden  not  your  hearts:  now  is  the  accepted 
time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation?^'  Is  not 
God  willing  to  pardon  you  this  moment ;  Christ 
willing  to  save  you  this  moipent;  the  Spirit 
waiting  to  renew  and  sanctify  you  this  mo- 
ment ?  Are  not  all  the  promises  true  now,  all 
the  blessings  of  salvation  ready  and  waiting 
for  your  acceptance  now  ?  What  then  are  you 
waiting  for,  or  why  should  you  wait  at  all? 
Could  a  voice  from  heaven,  or  any  impulse  in 
your  own  heart,  make  it  more  certain  than  the 
word  of  God  makes  it,  that  Christ  is  willing 
to  save  you?  Look  steadily  at  this  promise, 
"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest."  Is  that  the  language  of  Christ? 
Yes.  Is  it  true  ?  Yes.  Does  it  say  any  thing 
about  waiting  for  impulse  ?    No.     What  then 


122  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

are  you  hesitating  about?  It  is  as  true  this 
moment  as  it  ever  will  or  can  be,  and  if  you 
wait  for  any  thing  else  but  the  word  of  Christ, 
you  will  spend  all  your  time  in  waiting,  and 
die  deceived  at  last.  True,  you  need  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Spirit  to  assist  you  to  believe ;  but 
the  Spirit  is  as  ready  to  sanctify,  as  Christ  is 
to  receive  you. 

But  say  others,  "  We  are  waiting  to  be  more 
deeply  convinced  of  sin^  Are  you  convinced 
that  you  are  under  the  condemnation  of  the 
law ;  such  a  sinner  as  to  be  totally  depraved 
in  your  nature,  as  well  as  guilty  of  innumer- 
able actual  sins,  and  deserving  of  hell?  Is 
this  clear  to  your  judgment,  and  really  felt  by 
your  conscience;  then  what  are  you  waiting 
for?  If  you  say,  For  more  sorrow  of  heart, 
more  pungent  convictions,  I  would  ask  again, 
How  deep  do  you  suppose  your  convictions 
must  be,  before  you  believe  in  Christ  and 
hope  for  mercy?  Can  you  fix  on  any  standard 
on  this  subject?  Besides,  do  you  suppose  that 
if  your  convictions  were  ten  times  as  deep  as 
they  now  are,  these  feelings  of  yours  would  be 
your  warrant  to  go  to  Christ,  or  render  you 
more  welcome  to  him,  or  be  in  any  measure 


MISTAKES  OF  mQUIRERS.  123 

your  ground  of  hope?  Are  you  not  wishing 
for  deep  conyictions,  to  take  comfort  in  tliem 
instead  of  Christ?  Has  Christ  anywhere 
said  he  will  not  receive  you  till  your  convic- 
tions have  attained  to  a  certain  depth  ?  The 
question  is,  are  you  really  convinced  ?  not  how 
deeply  are  you  convinced.  And  then,  as  to 
godly  sorrow,  this  will  be  promoted  by  faith. 
"They  shall  look  on  me  whom  they  have 
pierced,  and  mourn,''  says  the  Lord  Jesus  con- 
cerning the  Jews.  Zech.  12  :  10.  The  belief 
of  God's  love  to  us  in  Christ,  the  sweet  hope 
of  his  mercy,  will  melt  the  heart  to  tenderness. 
I  wish  you  to  dwell  upon  this.  It  is  the  hope, 
the  sense  of  God's  love,  that  warms  and  thaws 
the  cold  and  frozen  heart  of  man.  As  you 
gaze  upon  a  crucified  Redeemer  by  faith ;  as 
you  hear  God  say,  "  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blot- 
teth  out  thy  sins  by  the  blood  of  my  Son ;  I 
will  forgive  thee  all,  notwithstanding  thy  rebel- 
lion and  thy  too  great  lukewarmness,"  your 
soul  will  dissolve  in  ingenuous  grief  and  love. 
In  keeping  back  from  Christ,  in  waiting  for 
deeper  emotions  before  you  come  to  him,  you 
are  defeating  your  own  purpose.  The  more 
arid  sooner  you  trust  in  Christ,  the  more  and 


124  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIREIk.. 

the  sooner  will  you  mourn  for  sin.  Every 
fresh  view  you  take  of  his  cross,  trusting  in 
his  mercy,  will  deepen  your  emotions  of  sorrow, 
and  your  convictions  of  the  evil  of  sin.  All 
the  sensibilities  of  your  heart  will  be  moved 
by  the  amazing  spectacle ;  and  that  very  scene 
which  conveys  to  your  soul  the  sense  of  par- 
don, will  convey  also  a  sense  of  the  bitterness 
of  transgression.  Wait  no  longer  then;  be- 
lieve, believe  now;  commit  your  soul  at  once 
to  the  Saviour,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of  sal- 
vation. 

Others  are  waiting  for  more  holiness,  for 
soTne  preparatory  process^  before  they  rest  upon 
Christ  for  eternal  life.  A  preparatory  pro- 
cess indeed  there  is,  and  must  be  carried 
on  in  the  heart,  before  the  sinner  will  go  to 
Christ.  But  what  is  that  process?  Nothing 
which  is  to  prevent  his  soul  for  a  moment, 
when  he  is  anxious  about  salvation,  from  de- 
pending upon  Christ.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  giving  him  a  sense  of  his  sin,  and 
a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  With 
such  a  sense  of  sin  and  coming  wrath,  what 
further  preparatory  work  is  necessary  in  order 
to  believe  in  Christ? 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  125 

But  what  is  meant  by  those  who  talk  thus 
is,  that  there  must  be  a  long  course  of  convic- 
tion, a  production  and  growth  of  holy  affec- 
tions, a  series  of  holy  actions,  an  expansion 
of  religious  knowledge ;  and  that  then,  and  not 
till  then,  sinners  are  encouraged  to  trust  in 
Christ  and  hope  for  salvation.  Now  it  is  very 
true  that  every  sinner,  in  coming  to  Christ  by 
faith,  must  be  prepared  and  ready  to  give  up 
every  sin ;  he  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice  sins 
that  may  be  pleasant  as  a  right  eye,  and  dear 
as  a  right  hand ;  he  must  be  willing  to  take  up 
his  cross  and  follow  Christ  to  bonds,  imprison- 
ment, and  death ;  he  must  consider  himself  as 
"  called  unto  holiness :"  and  what  more  in  the 
way  of  preparation  for  pardon  does  he  need  ? 
Is  not  a  man  prepared  to  trust  in  Christ  as 
soon  as  he  is  convinced  of  his  trangression  ? 
If  a  father  promise  pardon  to  an  offending 
child  as  soon  as  he  confesses  his  fault,  has  that 
child  any  need  to  say,  ^'  I  will  prepare  myself 
for  pardon  by  a  long  course  of  future  good 
conduct  ?''  His  father  is  ready  to  forgive  him, 
and  he  of  course  is  ready  to  be  forgiven,  upon 
the  very  first  moment  of  true  penitence.  If 
God  had  said  he  would  not  pardon  us  till 


126  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

months  or  years  of  good  conduct  had  taken 
place,  it  would  have  been  only  mocking  us; 
for  what  good  conduct  can  we  perform  till  he 
has  received  us  into  his  favor,  and  bestowed 
upon  us  his  Spirit  ?  The  first  concern  of  a  sin- 
ner should  be  to  receive  Christ  as  his  right- 
eousness by  faith.  It  is  ^  radical  error  to  sup- 
pose that  sanctification  goes  before  justification. 
We  must  be  justified,  or  we  never  can  be  sanc- 
tified. Mark  this  well.  I  repeat  it,  that  you 
may  notice  and  weigh  its  import :  we  must  be 

JUSTIFIED,  OR  WE  CANNOT  BE  SANCTIFIED.      We 

are  justified  by  faith,  and  without  faith  we 
cannot  please  God;  consequently,  till  we  be- 
lieve, we  can  perform  no  good  works;  and 
when  we  believe,  we  are  accepted  of  God. 
Faith,  then,  is  immediately  our  duty,  without 
waiting  for  any  preparatory  process.  But  per- 
haps this  will  be  made  still  more  plain  by  a 
reference  to  examples.  Take  then  the  con- 
versions, or  at  least  some  of  them,  recorded  in 
Scripture. 

Take  the  case  of  the  penitent  thief.  Luke 
23  :  40-43.  What  preparatory  process  went 
on  in  this  man's  mind  and  heart  and  conduct, 
beyond  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  in  convincing 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  127 

him  of  sin?  He  appears  to  have  thought  of 
his  sin,  and  repented  for  the  first  time,  when 
he  was  crucified ;  and  almost  the  same  moment 
believed  in  Christ,  and  entertained  a  hope  of 
mercy. 

Read  the  account  of  the  three  thousand  con- 
verted on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Acts  2.  Up 
to  the  time  when  they  heard  Peter's  sermon 
they  were  the  murderers  of  Christ;  by  that 
sermon  they  were  convinced  of  sin, » and  they 
were  immediately  found  rejoicing  in  the  assur- 
ance of  pardon.  Now  what  preparatory  pro- 
cess was  carried  on  in  their  hearts,  beyond 
the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  convincing  them  of 
sin? 

Consider  the  conversion  of  the  apostle  Paul, 
Acts  9,  who  was  a  bloody  persecutor ;  and  a 
day  or  two  after,  not  only  a  pardoned  sinner, 
a  baptized  believer,  a  rejoicing  Christian,  but 
a  consecrated  apostle.  What  preparatory  pro- 
cess in  the  way  of  long  cherished  convictions, 
or  holy  actions,  was  there  in  him  ? 

Consult  the  narrative  of  the  Philippian  jailer. 
Acts  16  :  25-34.  In  the^  same  night  he  was 
convinced  of  sin;  he  believed  in  Christ;  he 
was  filled  with  peace,  and  was  baptized.   When 


128  THE  AKXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

in  agony  of  soul  he  cried  out,  *'  What  shall  I 
do  to  be  saved  ?"  his  heaven-inspired  teacher 
replied,  "Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  The  apostle  did 
not  speak  to  him  of  any  preparatory  process, 
any  long  course  of  prescribed  duties,  any  train- 
ing for  his  reception  by  Christ,  but  simply  said, 
"Believe;"  and  he  meant,  of  course,  believe 
now ;  and  so  the  trembling  penitent  understood 
him,  for  he  believed  at  once,  and  entered  into 
peace. 

I  bring  forward  these  instances — and  almost 
all  the  other  cases  of  conversion  spoken  of  in 
the  New  Testament  are  of  a  similar  nature — • 
not  to  prove  that  all  conversions  are  equally 
striking  and  remarkable,  but  to  prove  this  one 
point,  that  no  other  preparation  in  the  sinner^s 
mind  is  necessary,  in  order  that  he  should  be- 
lieve and  be  justified,  but  a  real  conviction  of 
sin.  As  soon  as  a  man  knows  he  is  a  lost  sin- 
ner, that  is,  is  truly  convinced  of  his  state  of 
condemnation,  he  is  to  believe  in  Christ,  and 
to  hope  for  pardon ;  he  is  then  in  a  state,  a  fit 
state  to  receive  it;  and  moreover,  he  would 
not  be,  and  could  not  be,  more  fit  by  waiting 
ten  years  in  the  most  agonizing  convictions,  or 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  129 

the  most  sacred  performance  of  duty.  The 
sinner  is  condemned,  and  is  any  moment  after 
conviction  in  a  state  to  be  reprieved ;  and  he 
can  never  begin  to  perform  the  acts  of  a  good 
citizen  till  he  is  justified.  The  acceptance  of 
Christ  by  faith,  accompanied  by  the  renuncia- 
tion of  all  righteousness  of  our  own  in  true  re- 
pentance for  sin,  is  the  very  beginning  of  all 
evangelical  obedience  which  any  one  can  ren- 
der to  God.  We  never  can  be  holy  till  we  be- 
lieve in  Christ ;  and  therefore  all  ideas  of  prep- 
aration for  coming  to  Christ  by  making  our- 
selves better  are  erroneous,  arise  from  mistaken 
views  of  the  way  of  a  sinner^s  acceptance  with 
God,  and  are  generally  to  be  traced  to  a  prin- 
ciple of  self-righteousness.  This,  perhaps,  is 
the  case  with  many  who  will  read  these  pages : 
they  want  to  be  more  prepared,  either  by  con- 
victions or  by  holiness,  for  coming  to  Christ ; 
that  is,  they  -^ant  something  of  their  own  in 
which  to  glory ;  something  to  give  them  cour- 
age and  confidence  in  approaching  the  Saviour ; 
something  to  render  them  less  dependent  on 
free,  sovereign  grace;  something  to  entitle 
them,  if  not  to  salvation,  at  least  to  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  as  the  meritorious  cause  of 

Inquirer.  ,  9 


130  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUJUER. 

it.  Anxious  inquirer,  you  know  not  the  secret 
workings  of  pride  and  self-righteousness  in  your 
soul ;  you  are  not  yet  acquainted  with  the  de- 
ceitfulness  of  the  human  heart ;  you  are  ignor- 
ant of  the  artifices  of  Satan,  or  you  would  de- 
tect in  those  longings  after  some  preparatory 
process,  a  scheme  of  the  enemy  of  souls  to  keep 
you  from  Christ — ^yes,  it  is  a  veil  to  hide  from 
your  view  the  glary  of  his  cross,  and  a  stum- 
bling-block to  hinder  you  from  approaching  the 
fountain  of  life.    Wait  no  longer ; 

"  If  you  tarry  till  you  're  better, 
You  will  never  come  at  all." 

It  is  of  infinite  consequence  for  you  to  remem- 
ber that  you  are  received,  not  as  worthy,  but 
as  unworthy;  not  as  favorites,  but  as  those 
who  have  been  enemies ;  not  as  deserving  life 
by  your  convictions,  but  as  sentenced  to  death 
for  your  transgressions.  "To  him  that  work- 
eth  not,  but  believeth  on  Him  that  justifieth  tho 
ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted  for  righteousness." 
Rom.  4:5.  Mark  that  expression,  there  is  a 
vast  comprehension  of  subject  in  it ;  it  is  the 
key  to  a  correct  knowledge  of  justification — 
"believeth  on  Him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly." 
We  are  justified,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned, 


MISTAKES  OF  IN(iuItl^ 

under  the  character  of  ''ungodly/'  Tf^the^^  >'  ' 
we  seek  to  make  ourselves  godly  before  we 
come  to  Christ,  and  wish  to  come  under  that 
character,  we  are  shutting  ourselves  out  from 
the  blessing  of  justification ;  for  this  is  grant- 
ed only  to  them  who  consider  themselves  un* 
godly. 

3.  Another  mistake  into  which  inquirers  fall, 
is  to  indulge  a  misplaced  solicitude  about  the  evi- 
dences of  personal  religion.  I  know  that  the 
sacred  writers  speak  much  and  often  on  the 
subject  of  evidences  of  personal  religion.  But 
a  person  must  have  religion  before  he  can  pos- 
sess the  evidences  of  it ;  and  at  present  your 
solicitude  should  be  rather  to  be  a  Christian, 
than  to  know  you  are  such.  It  is,  however,  a 
very  common  case  for  persons,  as  soon  as  they 
begin  to  be  anxious  about  religion,  to  begin 
also  to  be  anxious  to  find  out  the  marks  of  sal- 
vation in  themselves.  Hence  they  are  ever 
microscopically  analyzing  all  their  feelings, 
watching  their  motives,  reviewing  their  con- 
duct ;  sometimes  hoping  when  they  see,  or  think 
they  see,  a  good  mark;  but  more  generally 
desponding,  as  the  result  of  seeing  so  much 
that  is  positively  wrong,  or  really  defective  in 


132  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

tte  state  of  their  hearts.  I  wish  you  to  attend 
to  this  remark,  that  "inquirers  after  salvation 
should  be  much  more  occupied  in  looking  to 
Christ,  than  in  looking  into  their  own  hearts ; 
and  that  when  they  do  look  into  themselves,  it 
should  be  for  conviction,  and  not  for  consola- 
tion." Consider  the  case  of  the  Israelites  when 
bitten  by  the  fiery  serpents  in  the  wilderness. 
Num.  21 :  7-9.  Moses,  you  know,  was  ordered 
to  make  a  brazen  serpent  and  elevate  it  upon 
a  pole,  and  whosoever  looked  upon  the  brazen 
figure  lived.  "Look  and  live,"  was  the  man- 
date and  promise.  Now  cannot  you  fancy  you 
see  the  poor  poisoned  creatures  straining  their 
very  eyes  in  gazing  upon  the  object  appointed 
for  their  healing  ?  Do  you  think  they  spent 
all  their  time,  or  much  of  their  time,  or  any  of 
it,  in  examining  the  wounds  to  see  if  they  were 
healing  ?  Were  they  so  foolish  as  to  look  off 
from  the  means  of  cure,  to  ascertain  their  prog- 
ress in  recovery  ?  No.  They  would  not  have 
taken  their  eye  from  the  brazen  serpent  to 
look  at  a  second  sun,  if  it  had  been  at  that 
time  kindled  in  the  firmament.  Their  eye  was 
fixed ;  and  as  they  looked,  they  felt  their  pain 
assuaged,  their  fever  cooled,  their  health  re- 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  133 

turning  :  if  they  looked  off,  they  felt  in  danger 
of  relapse;  and  in  this  way  they  recovered. 
Thus  should  it  be  with  the  sinner ;  he  should 
look  to  Jesus :  healing  is  there ;  and  is  obtain- 
ed, not  by  looking  to  see  if  it  is  come,  or  is 
coming. 

The  more  the  mind  is  fixed  on  Christ,  the 
more  clear  its  views  are  of  his  mediatorial 
work;  the  more  steady  and  fixed  the  eye  of 
faith  is  on  the  cross  of  Him  who  was  "  lifted 
up,  that  whosoever  believeth  should  not  perish, 
but  have  eternal  life,'^  the  firmer  will  be  the 
consciousness  of  the  soul  that  it  does  believe, 
and  the  more  abundant  will  be  all  the  fruits 
and  evidences  of  faith.  The  Israelite  had  no 
doubt  of  his  healing  as  long  as  he  looked  to 
the  brazen  serpent,  for  he  felt  it  going  on ;  nor 
will  the  soul  doubt  of  its  acceptance  with  God, 
so  long  as  it  looks  to  Christ.  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth hath  the  witness  in  himself,"  not  only 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  but  of  his  own  per- 
sonal religion.  The  way  to  have  evidences 
increased,  is  to  have  faith  increased ;  and  the 
way  to  have  faith  increased,  is  not  by  looking 
into  ourselves,  who  are  the  subjects  of  faith, 
but  out  of  ourselves  to  Christ,  who  is  the  object 


134  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

of  faith.  Faith  is  the  main-spring  and  regu- 
lator of  all  the  graces :  our  joy,  our  love,  our 
hope  will  all  be  in  proportion  to  our  faith ;  and 
our  faith  can  never  be  strengthened  by  an 
anxious  and  constant  poring  over  the  feelings 
of  our  hearts.  Nor  can  our  faith  be  strength- 
ened merely  by  determining  to  be  strong  in 
faith,  but  by  an  intelligent  and  increasingly 
clear  view  of  the  person  and  work  of  Christ. 
"  How  long,''  said  David,  "  shall  I  take  counsel 
in  my  soul,  having  sorrow  in  my  heart  daily  ?" 
He  tells  us  almost  immediately  after  how  he 
got  rid  of  his  grief,  even  by  looking  away  from 
himself  to  God :  "  I  have  trusted  in  thy  mercy, 
my  heart  shall  rejoice  in  thy  salvation."  Psa. 
13  :  2,  5.  The  peace  of  mind  that  true  faith 
brings  into  the  soul,  the  relief  which  it  affords 
from  the  burden  of  sin,  and  the  fruits  of  holi- 
ness in  a  godly  life,  are  evidences  that  faith  is 
genuine ;  but  there  can  be  neither  peace  nor 
holiness  without  faith.  Many,  I  apprehend, 
are  greatly  deceived  in  their  supposed  object 
in  seeking  for  marks  of  conversion :  it  is  not 
evidences  of  faith  they  are  seeking  after,  but 
matter  of  faith — not  evidences  that  they  have 
leceived  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  but  evi- 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  135 

dences  out  of  which  they  make  a  righteous- 
ness of  their  own;  they  want  comfort,  and 
instead  of  looking  for  it  in  Christ,  they  are 
looking  for  it  in  themselves.  Hence,  when 
they  have  found,  or  think  they  have  found  a 
good  mark  in  themselves,  they  rejoice  in  it  as 
those  that  have  found  great  spoil. 

Doubting,  dejected,  and  anxious  sinner,  thou 
hast  been  reading,  thinking,  hearing,  praying, 
striving,  examining,  consulting  books  of  evi- 
dences and  lists  of  marks  of  salvation,  inquir- 
ing of  others  how  they  feel  and  what  they  con- 
clude to  be  evidence  of  a  work  of  grace,  and 
yet  thou  art  as  far  from  any  satisfactory  con- 
clusion as  to  thy  state  as  ever ;  like  the  beast 
in  the  mire,  all  thy  striving  serves  but  to  sink 
thee  deeper  and  deeper.  Now  then  take  an- 
other plan,  since  thine  own  has  failed,  and 
instead  of  a  constant  search  for  evidences, 
look  to  Christ;  keep  thine  eye  fixed  on  him; 
meditate  upon  the  divinity  of  his  person,  the  suf- 
ficiency of  his  atonement,  the  perfection  of  his 
righteousness,  the  riches  of  his  grace,  the  uni- 
versality of  his  invitations.  Look  at  the  object 
of  faith,  the  grounds  of  faith,  the  warrant  of 
faith:  the  more  thou  doest  this,  the  stronger 


136  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER, 

thy  faith  will  become;  and  the  stronger  thy 
faith  is,  the  greater  thy  peace  will  be.  Instead 
of  laboring  to  love  Christ,  and  becoming  de- 
jected that  thou  dost  not  love  him  more,  take 
another  course,  and  dwell  upon  the  love  of 
Christ  to  thee.  Meditate  on  his  amazing  grace, 
his  most  wonderful  compassion,  not  only  to  the 
world  in  general,  but  to  thee,  as  part  of  the 
world ;  labor  and  pray  to  be  able  to  compre- 
hend, with  all  saints,  "  what  is  the  breadth  and 
length  and  depth  and  height,  and  to  know  the 
love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge." 
This,  this  is  the  way  to  grow  in  love  to  him ; 
for  if  we  love  him,  it  is  because  he  first  loved 
us.  1  John,  4:19.  It  is  a  great  principle,  which 
I  am  anxious  to  impress  upon  you,  that  subjec- 
tive religion,  or  in  other  words,  religion  in  us, 
is  produced  and  sustained  by  fixing  the  mind 
on  objective  religion,  or  the  facts  and  doctrines 
of  the  word  of  God.  Neither  evidences  nor 
comfort  should  be  sought  directly,  or  on  their 
own  account,  or  as  separate  things,  but  as  the 
result  of  faith.  Take  this  as  an  important 
sentiment,  that  the  subject  of  evidences  belongs 
more  to  the  believer  than  to  the  inquirer — to 
the  Christian  who  professes  to  be  already  in 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  137 

the  way,  and  not  to  the  anxious  seeker  after 
the  way. 

4.  But  there  is  another  mistake  which  in- 
quirers are  apt  to  make,  which,  though  nearly 
allied  to  what  I  have  already  stated,  is  suffi- 
ciently distinct  to  justify  a  separate  considera- 
tion, and  that  is,  confounding  faith  and  assurance. 
Faith  is  such  a  cordial  belief  that  Christ  died 
for  sinners,  as  leads  to  a  dependence  upon  him 
for  salvation ;  assurance,  as  the  word  is  usually 
understood  in  religious  discourse,  means  a  per- 
suasion that  I  do  so  believe  and  am  in  a  state 
of  salvation  :  faith  means  a  belief  that  Christ 
is  willing  to  receive  me  ;  assurance  means  con- 
viction that  he  has  received  me,  that,  in  short, 
I  am  a  Christian.  Now  it  is  manifest  that 
these  two  are  different  from  each  other ;  one  of 
them,  that  is,  faith,  signifying  the  performance 
of  au  action  or  coming  into  a  certain  state  ;  and 
the  other  the  consciousness  that  I  have  come 
into  that  state.  It  is  also  equally  evident  that 
faith  must  precede  assurance.  We  must  first 
believe  that  Christ  died  for  sinners,  and  trust 
in  him,  before  we  can  know  that  we  have  be- 
lieved. The  first  simple  act  of  faith  is  a  belief 
that  Christ  died  for  all  sinners,  for  the  whole 


138  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

world ;  the  next,  as  arising  out  of  it,  if  it  be  not 
indeed  included  in  it,  is,  that  he  died  for  us  as 
a  part  of  the  world.  I  belieye,  says  the  sinner 
who  is  coining  with  confidence  to  Christ,  that 
"  God  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life :" 
then,  as  I  am  a  part  of  the  world,  I  believe  he 
loved  me  and  is  willing  to  save  me ;  I  trust  in 
Him  as  my  atoning  sacrifice  and  my  all :  this 
is  faith.  The  soul  then  feels  joy  and  peace  in 
believing,  love  to  God,  gratitude  to  Christ, 
hatred  of  sin,  subjugation  of  the  world,  fellow- 
ship with  the  righteous ;  now  says  the  person, 
"  I  know  I  believe,  I  am  conscious  both  of  the 
act  of  believing  and  also  of  its  gracious  effects :" 
this  is  assurance. 

I  may  illustrate  this  by  referring  again  to 
the  rebellious  subjects  and  their  gracious  sove- 
reign. A  ringleader  of  the  revolt  can  scarcely 
persuade  himself  that  he  can  be  included  in 
the  act  of  amnesty ;  he  reads  the  proclamation 
again,  which  runs  thus  :  "  The  king,  pitying  his 
deluded  subjects,  and  filled  with  clemency,  will 
grant  a  gracious  pardon  to  all,  whosoever  they 
be,  who  will  lay  down  their  arms  by  such  a 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  139 

day.'^  Having  examined  the  proofs  of  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  act,  and  being  satisfied  on  that 
point,  he  says,  "  It  is  really  true,  and  I  believe 
that  the  king  is  willing  to  pardon  all  that  sub- 
mit ;  and  as  he  has  made  no  exception  against 
any,  but  says,  whosoever  will  lay  down  his  arms 
shall  be  forgiven,  I  believe  that  there  is  mercy 
for  me."  Thus  far  faith  goes  ;  and  even  be- 
fore he  reaches  the  scene  of  pardon,  or  takes 
a  step  towards  it,  his  mind  is  at  rest ;  the  proc- 
lamation itself,  as  soon  as  it  is  understood  and 
believed,  gives  him  comfort ;  he  has  no  doubt 
of  his  being  accepted.  He  goes  and  lays  down 
his  arms,  and  now  he  is  assured  he  is  safe  ;  he 
is  conscious  he  has  done  what  the  monarch  re- 
quired, and  he  feels  he  has  what  the  monarch 
promised.  In  his  case,  however,  you  perceive 
that  there  would  not  be  much  solicitude  about 
assurance.  Faith  and  compliance  with  the 
monarch's  demand  would  be  all  that  he  would 
concern  himself  about.  Assurance  would  fol- 
low upon  faith  and  action.  So  should  it  be 
with  anxious  inquirers  after  salvation :  their 
business  is  to  believe — what?  that  they  are 
Christians  ?  no ;  for  a  belief  that  I  am  a 
Christian,  is  not  faith,  but  assurance — ^but  to 


140  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

believe  the  gospel,  whicli  is  God's  proclama- 
tion of  mercy  and  pardon  to  his  rebel  subjects. 
They  are  to  feel  persuaded  that  God  has  loved 
them  in  common  with  other  sinners,  has  in- 
vited them,  has  promised  to  receive  them ;  and 
availing  themselves  of  this  revelation  of  mercy, 
to  commit  themselves  and  their  eternal  all  to 
Him.  Then,  from  the  peace-giving  effect  of  this 
upon  their  conscience,  and  the  purifying  effect 
of  it  upon  their  hearts,  they  may  be  assured 
they  have  believed,  and  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life.  Faith  then  is  not  assurance,  but  the 
cause  of  it. 

Now,  inquirer,  are  you  not  aware  you  have 
confounded  these  two  ;  and  have  been  conse- 
quently walking  in  great  perplexity  ?  You  are 
dejected,  and  find  no  peace.  Why  ?  "  Oh," 
you  say,  "  my  faith  is  so  weak ;  indeed  I  am 
afraid  I  have  no  faith."  Now,  what  do  you 
mean  by  having  no  faith ?  "I  am  afraid  I  am 
not  a  Christian.  I  fear  I  do  not  believe.  I 
am  full  of  unbelief."  And  let  me  tell  you  that 
you  never  can  be  delivered  from  distress  in  this 
way,  for  you  are  wanting  to  know  you  are  a 
Christian  before  you  are  one ;  you  are  striving 
to  know  you  are  a  believer  before  you  believe ; 


MISTAKES  OF  INQUIRERS.  141 

you  wish  to  be  assured  you  are  accepted  of 
Christ,  in  order  that  you  may  go  to  him  for 
acceptance.  Faith  is  not  believing  that  you 
are  a  Christian,  but  believing  that  Christ  died 
for  sinners,  and  trusting  in  him ;  and  unbelief 
is  not  doubting  that  you  are  a  Christian,  but 
doubting  Christ's  willingness  to  save  you,  and 
thus  rejecting  him.  My  advice  to  you  then  is, 
to  leave  assurance,  as  a  first  matter,  out  of  con- 
sideration. Your  business  at  present  is  with 
faith :  you  are  to  believe ;  you  are  to  commit 
your  soul  to  the  atonement  of  Christ ;  you  are 
to  be  persuaded  that  he  died  for  sinners,  died 
for  you,  and  is  willing  to  save  you.  This  is 
the  assurance  you  are  to  seek ;  and  this  is 
what  the  apostle  means  by  the  full  assurance 
of  faith :  an  unhesitating  confidence  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  is  able  and  willing  to  save  to  the 
uttermost;  and  therefore  able  and  willing  to 
save  you.  Get  your  mind  full  of  conviction 
of  the  truth  of  this  ;  let  your  soul  be  thrown, 
as  it  were,  wide  open  to  admit  this  delight- 
ful persuasion,  that  Christ  is  mighty  to  save, 
delighted  to  save,  waiting  to  save  all — you 
among  the  rest,  you  as  willingly  as  any  of  the 
rest — and   cast  your   soul  -upon   him  ;    then 


142  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

will  this  truth  give  you  such  peace,  and  exert 
such  a  power  over  your  heart,  as  to  prove  to 
you  the  existence  and  reality  of  your  faith, 
and  you  shall  have  the  blessed  assurance  at 
once  of  God^s  love  in  Christ,  and  of  your  ac 
ceptance  in  him. 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.         143 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PERPLEXITIES  WHICH  ARE  OFTEN  FELT  BY 
INQUIRERS. 

1.  Many  are  exceedingly  perplexed  and  dis- 
tressed on  the  subject  of  their  personal  election 
to  eternal  life, 

I  have  nothing  to  do  now  with  those  care- 
less or  profane  persons  who  make  this  awful 
doctrine  an  excuse,  or  rather  profess  to  make 
it  an  excuse,  for  the  entire  neglect  of  religion ; 
and  who  with  a  wicked  indifference  exclaim, 
"  If  I  am  elected  to  be  saved,  I  shall  be  saved 
without  any  concern  of  mine  ;  but  if  I  am  not 
elected,  no  effort  of  mine  will  or  can  save  me." 
The  fact  is,  that  such  persons  do  not  believe  in 
the  doctrine  of  election  at  all,  nor  indeed  care 
any  thing  about  salvation  ;  but  are  utterly 
ignorant  and  careless,  and  refer  to  this  solemn 
truth  either  to  quiet  their  own  conscience,  or 
to  silence  and  turn  away  the  voice  of  faithful 
admonition.  But  there  are  others  who  do  feel, 
especially  in  the  early  stages  of  religious  in- 


•144  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

quiry,  no  small  degree  of  perplexity  on  this 
subject.  Now  here  let  me  at  once  inform  you, 
that  you  who  are  inquiring  after  salvation  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  doctrine  of  election,  as 
a  rule  of  conduct.  The  sublime  truth  of  God's 
sovereignty  in  the  salvation  of  his  people,  is 
introduced  in  Scripture  not  to  discourage  the 
approach  of  the  sinner  to  Christ  for  salvation, 
but  to  remind  those  who  have  come  to  him,  that 
their  salvation  is  all  of  grace ;  to  take  away 
from  them  all  ground  of  boastiug  ;  to  confirm 
their  faith  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  divine 
promises;  to  promote  their  comfort;  to  incul- 
cate the  necessity  of  personal  holiness  ;  and  to 
encourage  Christians  amidst  the  afflictions  of 
life.  Rom.  ch.  8,  9  ;  Eph.  1  :  4, 5,  9, 11 ;  1  Pet. 
1 :  2.  But  it  was  never  designed  to  be  a  source 
of  discouragement  to  penitents.  The  rule  of 
your  conduct  is  the  invitation  and  promise  of 
Christ,  not  the  secret  purposes  of  God :  "  The 
secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God ; 
but  those  things  that  are  revealed  belong  unto 
us  and  to  our  children  for  ever,  that  we  may 
do  all  the  words  of  this  law."  Deut.  29  :  29. 
The  mercy  of  God  is  infinite ;  the  merit  of 
Christ's  atonement  is  infinite  ;  the  power  of 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.         145 

the  Spirit  is  infinite  ;  and  the  invitations  of  the 
gospel  are  universal.  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden/'  And  thus 
saith  the  Lord,  "I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death 
of  the  wicked."  "  The  Lord  is  long-suffering 
to  us-ward ;  not  willing  that  any  should  per- 
ish, but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance. '^ 
*'  Him  that  cometh  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out." 
"  Whosoever  will,  let  him  take  of  the  water  of 
life  freely."  Now  these  are  the  words  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  must  therefore  be  true ;  and  here  is 
the  rule  of  your  conduct.  You  can  understand 
this,  but  you  know  little  of  the  secret  purposes 
of  God.  Besides,  if  you  knew  you  were  elected, 
you  would  not  be  received  and  saved  because  of 
this  knowledge,  but  by  believing  in  Christ,  who 
invites  men  not  as  elected  to  life,  but  as  lost 
sinners  condemned  to  death.  If  you  had  been 
permitted  to  read  the  decrees  of  heaven,  and 
had  seen  your  name  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life, 
you  would  not  be  one  whit  more  welcome  to 
Christ  than  you  are  now  that  you  know  nothing 
about  the  matter.  You  are  invited ;  and  if 
you  neglect  the  invitation  which  you  do  know, 
because  of  a  decree  which  you  do  not  know,  the 
blame  of  perishing  will  lie  at  your  own  door  ; 

luquirer.  3  0 


146  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

and  you  will  find  at  last  that  yon  are  lost,  not 
in  consequence  of  any  purpose  of  God  determin- 
ing you  to  be  lost,  but  in  consequence  of  your 
own  unbelief. 

Why  should  the  purpose  of  God  in  reference 
to  salvation  be  the  only  view  of  the  divine  pur- 
poses which  perplexes  you?  Do  you  not  be- 
lieve there  is  also  a  purpose  which  refers  to  the 
events  of  your  natural  life  and  death  ?  But  do 
you  on  this  account  hesitate  in  sickness  to  take 
the  medicine  prescribed  for  you  by  a  skilful 
physician,  lest  you  should  not  be  ordained  to 
life  ?  No.  You  say,  and  with  reason,  "  I  know 
not  the  divine  purpose ;  my  business  is  with 
plain  rules  of  duty,  and  instituted  means  ;  for 
if  I  am  to  live,  I  can  expect  recovery  only  by 
those  means."  Act  thus  in  reference  to  your 
soul.  You  are  invited  to  use  the  means  of 
life  ;  if  you  are  to  be  saved,  you  must  be  saved 
in  the  use,  not  in  the  neglect  of  these  means, 
and  if  you  use  them  aright  you  certainly  will 
be  saved.  If  any  use  at  all  is  to  be  made  by 
an  inquirer,  of  the  doctrine  of  election,  it  is  a 
use  in  his  own  favor.  You  know  not  that  you 
are  not  elected,  and  the  very  solicitude  of  your 
mind  about  salvation  makes  it  probable  that 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.         147 

you  are^  since  that  solicitude  is  usually  em- 
ployed by  God  as  one  of  the  methods  through 
which  he  fulfils  his  purposes  of  mercy  to  ruined 
man.  Besides,  if  you  get  away  from  the  invi- 
tation, and  instead  of  making  that  the  rule  of 
your  conduct,  trouble  your  head  with  other 
views  and  subjects,  you  will  find  as  much  per- 
plexity in  God's  foreknowledge  as  you  do  in 
his  decree.  Even  those  who  deny  the  purposes 
of  God  have  just  as  much  reason  to  perplex 
themselves  with  divine  prescience,  and  say, 
"Whatever  God  foresees,  and  nothing  but 
what  he  foresees,  will  take  place :  now  he  fore- 
sees either  that  I  shall  be  saved  or  lost ;  and 
as  I  do  not  know  that  he  foresees  that  I  shall 
be  saved,  I  am  greatly  discouraged."  Aban- 
don at  once  therefore  all  solicitude  about  the 
unrevealed  purposes  of  God,  and  fix  your  atten- 
tion on  the  invitation.  Christ  bids  you  come 
to  him  for  salvation ;  and  every  bar  and  obsta- 
cle which  lies  in  the  way  of  your  coming  is 
placed  there  by  you,  and  not  by  him.  He  does 
not  say,  Come  when  you  have  ascertained  your 
election,  but,  Come  and  ascertain  it.  He  does 
not  say.  You  are  welcome  if  you  have  read  the 
decree ;  but,  You  are  welcome  if  you  believe 


148  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER/ 

the  promise.  He  does  not  say,  Come  under  the 
presumption  that  you  are  predestinated ;  but, 
Come  with  the  assurance  that  you  are  bidden. 
Your  business  is  to  make  your  calling  sure,  and 
then  you  will  no  longer  doubt  of  your  election. 

2.  Another  source  of  perplexity  with  some,  is 
a  fear  that  they  have  committed  the  unpardon- 
able blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost, 

This  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  ground  of 
painful  solicitude ;  and  even  when  it  does  not 
amount  to  a  deep  and  terrifying  conviction,  yet 
the  subject  haunts  the  imagination  with  many 
distressing  fears,  keeps  the  peace  unsettled,  and 
prevents  that  calm  and  tranquillizing  reliance 
to  which  the  penitent  is  invited.  Now  I  wish 
you  to  know,  that  in  whatever  awful  and  ter- 
rific obscurity  this  subject  is  enveloped,  no  one 
that  is  really  anxious  about  his  salvation  need 
fear  that  he  has  passed  the  line  of  hope  and  en- 
tered the  region  where  mercy  never  dispenses 
pardon  ;  the  very  fear  of  having  committed  this 
sin,  when  such  fear  is  connected  with  a  tender 
concern  for  salvation,  is  a  proof  that  it  has  not 
been  committed.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted 
that  in  every  case  where  this  mysterious  crime 
has  been  committed,  the  transgressor  is  given 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.         149 

up  either  to  a  deadly  stupor,  or  a  raging  frenzy 
of  the  conscience. 

But  perhaps  the  best  way  of  removing  the 
apprehension,  is  to  explain  the  subject  which 
occasions  it.  What  is  the  nature  of  this  sin  ? 
Read  the  account  of  it:  "Wherefore  I  say  unto 
you,  all  manner  of  sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be 
forgiven  unto  men ;  but  the  blasphemy  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven  unto  men. 
And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the 
Son  of  man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him  ;  but  who- 
soever speaketh  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall 
not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this  world, 
neither  in  the  world  to  come.^'  Matt.  12  :  31, 
32.  The  occasion  of  these  awful  words  was 
the  conduct  of  the  Pharisees  in  ascribing  the 
miracles  of  Christ,  the  reality  of  which  they 
could  not  deny  or  doubt,  to  the  power  of  the 
devil.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  words 
had  a  special  reference  to  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  was  to  follow  our  Lord's  crucifix- 
ion. The  day  of  Pentecost,  properly  speaking, 
commenced  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit — • 
wlien  his  divine  gifts  conferred  upon  the  apos- 
tles, completed  the  eviderxe  of  the  Christian 
economy ;  and  the  language  of  Christ  seemed 


160  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

to  direct  the  Pharisees  forward,  in  the  way  of 
impressive  warning,  to  that  event,  and  remind 
them,  though  they  understood  him  not,  that  the 
malicious  contempt  cast  upon  his  miracles,  if 
repeated  after  the  Holy  Ghost  should  be  poured 
out,  would  fill  the  measure  of  their  iniquities, 
seal  them  up  in  unbelief,  and  place  them  be- 
yond the  reach  of  mercy.  There  would  remain 
no  further  evidence  of  the  divine  mission  of 
Christ ;  the  last  and  the  fullest  attestation  to 
his  Messiahship  would  be  rejected  and  reviled 
with  malice  of  heart.  If,  in  addition  to  this, 
you  will  recollect  the  meaning  of  the  term  blas- 
phemy, which  signifies  to  speak  reproachfully, 
opprobriously,  or  impiously,  you  will  then  have 
the  nature  of  this  crime  before  you.  It  is 
knowledge  in  the  mind  that  miracles  were 
wrought ;  malice  ii;  the  heart  against  Christ, 
in  attestation  of  whom  they  were  given ;  con- 
tempt of  the  Holy  Ghost  their  author ;  and 
the  language  of  spite  upon  the  tongue,  reviling 
the  miracles  themselves  by  ascribing  them  to 
the  agency  of  devils.  It  is  not  simple  unbelief 
under  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit ;  it  is  not 
mere  infidelity,  even  under  very  aggravated  cir- 
cumstances ;  but  it  is  the  union  of  conviction, 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.         151 

malice,  and  impiety.  It  is  therefore  evident, 
that  if  this  sin  is  now  ever  committed,  no  serious 
inquirer  after  salvation  need  entertain  the  ap- 
prehension that  it  has  been  committed  by  him. 
He  has  not  passed  the  boundary  of  mercy  ;  nor 
is  there  a  sin  he  has  ever  been  guilty  of,  how- 
ever enormous  in  magnitude,  or  however  pain- 
ful in  remembrance,  but  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  can  cleanse  it  away. 

3.  But  this  leads  to  another  perplexity  which 
is  felt  by  others ;  who,  though  they  do  not  fear 
that  they  have  been  guilty  of  this  unpardonable 
crime,  are  distressed  by  the  apprehension  that 
their  sins  are  too  greats  too  numerous^  or  too  pe- 
culiar to  he  forgiven. 

Sometimes  convinced  sinners  are  enabled  by 
divine  grace  to  indulge  the  hope  of  pardon 
almost  as  soon  as  they  feel  the  conviction  of 
sin.  Yea,  some  are  led  to  see  the  evil  of  sin 
at  first,  more  by  the  mercy  of  the  gospel  than 
the  stern  justice  which  appears  in  the  law  ;  but 
others  are  long  and  sorely  harassed  by  fears 
of  rejection,  before  they  are  brought  to  a  com- 
fortable expectation  of  forgiveness.  This  is 
more  commonly  the  case  with  those  who  have 
gone  to  great  lengths  in  sin,  and  have  resisted 


152  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

the  clearest  and  loudest  warnings  of  conscience : 
it  is  not  unusual  for  such  persons,  when  truly 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  sin  and  danger, 
to  plunge  into  the  very  depths  of  despondency. 
In  some  cases  I  think  it  possible  that  this  de- 
sponding frame  of  mind  is  really  cherished,  as 
'if  it  were  an  evidence  of  sincere  and  deep 
penitence :  there  are  those  who  look  upon 
doubts  and  fears  as  the  marks  of  a  work  of 
grace,  and  proofs  of  genuine  piety.  Such  doubts 
and  fears,  however,  are  never  to  be  sought,  since 
true  godly  sorrow  is  both  accompanied  and 
promoted  by  faith  and  hope.  Despair  tends 
to  harden  the  heart,  and  to  freeze  up  the  feel- 
ings of  penitence.  God  cannot  be  glorified, 
nor  Christ  honored,  by  doubting  of  his  ability 
or  willingness  to  save.  I  am  persuaded  that 
many  persons  say  more  about  theit  sins  being 
too  great  to  be  pardoned,  than  they  either  be- 
lieve or  feel,  from  a  supposition  that  it  is  a 
token  of  humility  to  talk  thus.  Watch  against 
this,  for  it  is  an  act  of  guilty  insincerity ;  it 
is  trifling  with  sacred  things,  and  should  be 
avoided. 

But  there  are  many  who  are  really  distressed 
with  the  most  painful  solicitude,  and  the  most 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.         153 

gloomy  apprehensions  about  the  pardon  of  their 
sins.  Now  here  let  me  put  a  plain  question  to 
you  :  Is  your  concern  merely  to  be  pardoned,  or 
to  be  sanctified  as  well  as  pardoned  ?  Are  you 
afraid  only  of  being  left  under  the  punishment 
of  sin,  or  do  you  also  fear  being  left  under  its 
power  ?  If  you  are  so  selfish  as  to  be  anxious 
for  nothing  but  your  own  safety,  without  caring 
for  holiness,  no  wonder  you  are  left  by  God  to 
despondency.  You  do  not  yet  understand  the 
design  of  Christ's  work,  which  is  not  merely  to 
deliver  from  hell,  but  also  from  sin.  Change 
then,  or  rather,  enlarge  the  object  of  your  hope, 
so  as  to  include  sanctification  as  well  as  justifi- 
cation, and  in  all  probability  your  unbelief  and 
distress  will  soon  give  way ;  for  it  will  be  found 
easier,  perhaps,  to  some,  to  believe  that  God  is 
willing  to  make  them  holy,  than  to  forgive 
them.  Desponding  sinner,  think  of  this ;  the 
salvation  of  Christ  is  designed  to  make  you  a 
new  creature,  and  to  restore  the  image  of  God 
to  your  soul ;  and  do  you  not  believe  that  God 
must  be  infinitely  willing  to  do  this  ? 

After  all,  however,  there  are  some  who,  even 
wi.th  this  view  of  the  design  of  Christ's  death, 
still  cherish  the  idea  that  their  sins  cannot  be 


154  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

forgiven:  none  have  sinned,  tliey  think,  like 
them;  there  are  aggravations  in  their  sins, 
not  to  be  found  in  the  conduct  of  any  other. 
Now  I  refer  such  burdened  and  desponding 
minds, 

To  the  promises  of  God^s  word.  Read  atten- 
tively such  declarations  as  are  found  in  the 
following  passages :  Isa.  44:22;  55:6,  7;  Mi- 
cah  7  :  18,  19  ;  Matt.  12  :  31,  32.  Dwell  espe- 
cially upon  this  last  passage,  because  it  most 
explicitly  declares  that  the  blasphemy  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  only  sin  excepted  from 
forgiveness.  If  then  you  are  led  to  see  that 
you  have  not  committed  the  only  sin  for  which 
there  is  no  forgiveness,  it  must,  I  think,  appear 
plain  to  you  that  your  transgressions  are  not 
unpardonable. 

Dwell  much  upon  the  perfection  of  Christ's 
work  in  making  atonement  for  sin.  The  apos- 
tle declares,  that  "  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.''  1  John, 
1:7.  It  would  seem  as  if  this  declaration 
were  written  on  purpose  to  meet  such  cases  as 
yours.  This  scripture  says  positively,  the 
blood  of  Christ  cleanses  from  all  sin.  "  No," 
you  say,  in  flat  and  perverse  contradiction,  "  it 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.  155 

cannot  cleanse  iro'm  mine/'  Did  Christ  die  to 
save  sinners,  and  yet  are  there  some  sinners  to 
be  found,  according  to  your  view,  whom  he 
cannot  save?  Then  his  work  of  salvation  is 
unfinished,  and  his  character  as  a  Saviour  is 
incomplete.  Has  he  not  saved  millions  already 
by  the  merit  of  his  death  ?  Well,  suppose  all 
the  sins  of  those  millions  had  been  in  you 
alone,  could  he  not  as  easily  have  saved  you  in 
that  case,  as  he  has  saved  them?  Certainly 
he  could.  Can  you  really  make  up  your  mind 
to  go  and  say  to  Christ,  "  Lord,  thou  canst  not, 
wilt  not  save  me ;  there  is  neither  love  enough 
in  thy  heart,  nor  power  enough  in  thy  Spirit, 
nor  merit  enough  in  thy  great  sacrifice  to  save 
me.  Look  upon  me  and  behold  a  sinner  whom 
even  thou  canst  not  save :  behold  in  me  a  sin- 
ner to  whom  thy  uttermost  ability  cannot 
reach.''  No,  you  cannot  say  this ;  and  yet  you 
may  say  it,  and  innocently  say  it,  if  what  you 
affirm  is  true,  that  your  sins  are  too  great  to 
be  forgiven.  Let  it  be  admitted,  for  the  sake 
of  argument,  that  you  are  the  chief  of  sinners, 
still  Christ  can  save  you ;  so  at  least  the  apos- 
tle thought  when  he  said,  "  This  is  a  faithful 
saying,  and  worthy  of  all   acceptation,  that 


156  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

Christ  Jesus  came  into  tiie  world  to  save  sin- 
ners, of  whom  I  am  chief.''  And  now  read 
what  follows :  "  Howbeit,  for  this  cause  I  ob- 
tained mercy ;  that  in  me  first,"  or  as  it  signi- 
fies, in  me  the  chief  sinner,  "Jesus  Christ 
might  show  forth  all  long-sufi'ering,  for  a  pat- 
tern to  them  which  should  hereafter  believe 
on  him  to  life  everlasting."  1  Tim.  1 :  15,  16. 
Think  what  Saul  of  Tarsus  was,  a  bloody  per- 
secutor, and  even  murderer  of  the  disciples  of 
Christ ;  yet  Christ  not  only  pardoned  him,  but 
raised  him  to  the  dignity  of  the  chief  of  the 
apostles.  For  what  purpose?  To  be  a  pat- 
tern of  God's  mercy  to  the  end  of  time.  Yes, 
there  he  stands  upon  the  pedestal  of  his  own 
immortal  writings,  a  monument  of  the  riches, 
power,  and  sovereignty  of  divine  grace,  bear- 
ing this  inscription :  I,  who  was  a  blasphemer, 
a  persecutor  and  injurious,  obtained  mercy. 
Let  no  man  ever  despair :  for  if  there  arise  a 
greater  sinner  than  I  was,  let  him  look  on  me, 
and  hope  for  pardon  through  the.  blood  of 
Christ.  I  was  forgiven  to  encourage  the  wick- 
edest of  men  to  repent,  to  believe  in  Jesus,  and 
expect  salvation. 

Consider  well  the  other  instances  recorded 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.  157 

in  the  word  of  God,  of  pardon  granted  to  some 
of  the  greatest  sinners.  There  is  scarcely  one 
class  of  sinners,  or  one  kind  of  crime,  which  is 
not  specifically  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  hav- 
ing been  pardoned.  Think  of  Manasseh,  an 
apostate,  an  idolater,  a  wholesale  murderer, 
a  man  whose  example  and  authority  as  a  king 
were  employed  to  fill  a  nation  with  iniquity ; 
of  the  dying  malefactor  who  was  saved  upon 
his  cross  ;  of  the  Jews  who  were  converted  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  who,  though  they 
had  been  the  murderers  of  Christ,  were  for- 
given; of  the  once  polluted  members  of  the 
Corinthian  church.  1  Cor.  6  : 9-11.  What 
proofs  are  these  that  no  sins  will  keep  a  man 
from  salvation,  that  do  not  keep  him  from 
Christ.  The  fact  is,  that  greatness  and  little- 
ness, few  and  many,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
this  matter,  in  the  way  of  making  it  more  diffi- 
cult, or  more  easy  to  obtain  mercy.  No  man 
is  pardoned  because  his  sins  are  fewer  than 
others,  and  none  is  rejected  because  his  sins  are 
more.  Great  sinners  are  welcome ;  for  as  the 
skill  of  the  physician  is  the  more  displayed  in 
dangerous  and  difficult  cases  than  in  slight  ones, 
BO  is  the  grace  of  Christ  the  more  illustriously 


158  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

manifested  in  the  pardon  and  sanctification  of 
notorious  sinners,  than  in  the  salvation  of  those 
who  have  not  gone  so  far  astray.  If  God's 
mercy  be  infinite,  it  must  be  as  easy  for  him  to 
pardon  a  million  sins  as  one.  Desponding  sin- 
ner, doubt  no  longer.  The  greatest  sin  you 
can  commit,  is  to  disbelieve  God's  promise  to 
forgive  your  other  sins.  Unbelief  is  the  most 
heinous  of  all  sins.  "  He  that  believeth  not 
God,  hath  made  him  a  liar.''  1  John,  5  :  10. 
Yes,  you  are  giving  God  the  lie  to  his  face,  as 
often  as  you  say  your  sins  are  too  great  to  be 
forgiven.  Do  you  not  tremble  at  this?  Is 
there  not  abominable  pride  in  unbelief?  Who 
and  what  are  you,  that  you  should  suppose  God 
has  any  object  or  interest  in  deceiving  you  by 
a  false  promise  ?  Are  you  so  considerable  a 
person,  that  he  should  falsify  his  word  in  order 
to  draw  you  into  false  confidence?  Believe 
then  from  this  hour,  that  God  is  more  willing 
to  forgive  you  the  greatest  of  your  sins,  than 
you  imagine  he  is  to  blot  out  the  least  oi 
them. 

4.  Some  are  perplexed  with  the  notion,  that 
as  "  the  sacrifice  of  the  wicked  is  an  abomina- 
tion to  God,"  and  as  none  of  the  works  of  un- 


PEEPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.  159 

regenerate  persons  are  acceptable  to  God,  if  is 
not  right  for  them  to  pray,  since  they  are  not 
yet  believers  in  Christ.  With  regard  to  the 
expression  above  alluded  to,  which  speaks  of 
the  sacrifice  of  the  wicked,  it  means  the  hypo- 
critical religious  services  of  men  who  are  still 
living  in  the  commission  of  known  sin,  and  im- 
piously designing  to  make  some  atonement  for 
their  iniquities  by  their  sacrifices.  This  is 
evident  from  the  passage  itself,  where  it  is  also 
said,  the  way  of  the  wicked  is  abomination, 
that  is,  his  conduct ;  and  because  his  conduct 
is  abominable,  therefore  his  prayer  is  also 
abominable.  This  passage  is  best  expounded 
by  a  reference  to  Isaiah  1 :  10-18.  It  applies 
to  a  totally  different  case  from  yours.  Your 
prayers,  indeed,  do  not  merit  the  divine  bless- 
ing which  you  are  anxious  to  obtain,  however 
frequently  or  fervently  they  may  be  presented. 
You  ought  not  to  pray  with  the  idea  that  there 
is  any  worth  in  your  prayers  to  make  any 
atonement  for  your  sins;  nor  ought  you  to 
look  for  peace  and  comfort  from  your  prayers. 
I  go  a  step  further,  and  remind  you  that  unless 
you  pray  in  faith,  your  prayers  are  not  such  as 
God  has  engaged  to  answer.     You  should  be- 


160  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

lieve  that  God  is  willing  and  waiting  to  bestovr 
all  spiritual  blessings,  for  lie  lias  promised  to 
do  so.  To  doubt  at  the  time  you  pray  whether 
God  will  grant  what  he  has  promised,  is  sin ; 
and  to  doubt  whether  it  is  your  duty  to  pray 
because  you  do  not  yet  know  that  you  are 
accepted  of  God,  is  unquestionably  wrong. 
You  may  as  well  question  whether  it  is  your 
duty  to  read  the  Bible,  or  to  go  to  public 
worship.  Did  not  Peter  tell  Simon  Magus  to 
pray?  ** Repent,  therefore,"  said  he,  "of  this 
thy  wickedness,  and  pray  God,  if  perhaps  the 
thought  of  thy  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee; 
for  I  perceive  that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bit- 
terness and  bond  of  iniquity."  Acts  8  :  22,  23. 
Still,  I  would  remind  you,  that  as  long  as  you 
pray  in  an  unconverted  state,  your  prayers  are 
only  the  operations  of  self-love ;  they  are  but 
the  cries  of  misery  after  relief,  the  desire  of 
the  soul  after  happiness;  and,  however  fre- 
quently or  fervently  repeated,  prefer  no  claim 
on  God  for  his  blessing.  The  sin  lies  not  in 
praying — for  if  sincere,  there  is  no  sin  in  cry- 
ing to  God  for  help — but  in  not  believing. 
Instead  therefore  of  leaving  off  prayer,  or  har- 
assing your  mind  with  doubts  concerning  it, 


PERPLEXITIES  OF  INQUIRERS.  161 

continue  instant  in  prayer,  mourning  for  your 
sins,  and  believing  at  the  same  time  the  prom- 
ise of  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus.  You  are  to  add 
to  your  prayer  faith,  and  it  is  your  duty  at 
once  to  believe ;  but  should  it  not  be  that  your 
soul  loses  immediately  its  guilty  fears,  still  you 
are  to  pray  for  mercy,  and  for  faith  to  receive 
it.  It  cannot  be  wrong  for  a  soul  to  cry  for 
mercy.  With  such  light  as  you  have,  lift  up 
your  desire  to  God.  Pray  for  more  knowledge, 
stronger  faith,  and  firmer  hope.  Prayer  is 
your  duty,  and  it  is  your  privilege ;  and  let  no 
speculative  difficulties  have  a  moment's  influ- 
ence to  induce  you  to  suspend  it.  Cry  for 
mercy  as  a  sinner ;  but  do  not  remain  in  unbe- 
lief, supposing  that  prayer  can  be  a  substitute 
for  faith ;  for  as  1  said  before,  so  I  repeat,  God 
does  not  bind  himself  to  answer  any  prayers 
but  those  of  faith. 


la^iUiMr  .1* 


162  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DISCOURAaEMENTS  WHICH  PRESENT  THEl^" 
SELVES  AT  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  A  RE- 
LiaiOUS  COURSE. 

The  word  of  God  teaches  us  to  expect  these. 
What  means  the  strait  gate,  but  an  entrance 
attended  with  difficulty?  "What  means  count- 
ing the  cost,  but  contemplating  obstacles  and 
preparing  to  meet  them?  Bunyan  knew  the 
course  to  heaven  when  he  placed  the  slough  of 
despond  in  the  first  stage  of  the  journey.  You 
are  mistaken  if  you  expect,  by  one  easy  stride, 
to  reach  the  firm  and  solid  ground  beyond  the 
dismal  swamp.^  Sincerity  will  diminish  diffi- 
culties, and  finally  overcome  them,  but  it  will 
not  prevent  them.  Prepare  then  for  discour- 
agement, for  you  will  be  sure  to  meet  with  it ; 
and  it  is  both  wise  and  merciful  to  forewarn 
you  of  it,  lest  you  should  conclude  that  some 
strange  thing  has  happened  to  you.  But  ob- 
serve, no  part  of  this  discouragement  comes 
from  God.    He  interposes  no  obstacle,  raises 


JDISCOURAaEMENTS.  16S 

no  difficulties,  presents  no  objection.  A  doubt 
of  his  willingness  to  save,  a  distrust  of  his 
mercy,  would  be  fatal  to  your  hopes.  But  all 
is  clear  ground,  so  far  as  he  is  concerned. 
Dwell  on  this  thought,  it  is  a  blissful  one ; 
ponder  here,  before  you  go  another  step  ;  arm 
yourself  to  meet  every  discouragement,  come 
from  what  quarter  it  may,  with  this  conviction, 
that  God  waits  to  be  gracious;  yes,  like  the 
father  in  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  he  is 
out  looking  for  you,  his  infinite  mercy  is  in 
motion  towards  you,  he  runs  towards  you  faster 
than  you  go  to  him.  What  then  is  your  dis- 
couragement ?  tiaiidO  lo  iooi^a  oM  U  ban 
1.  The  cold  indifferericejih&TepnlsiYe  shyness 
of  some  professing  Christians.  You  thought 
that  the  very  look  of  anxiety,  the  very  counte- 
nance that  seemed  to  say  to  their  eyes,  if  not  to 
their  ears,  "What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
would  draw  the  sympathies  of  many  upon  you ; 
instead  of  which,  you  perhaps  feel  that  you  are 
left  without  a  friend  to  commiserate  or  guide 
you,  and  are  compelled  in  the  agony  of  youi* 
soul  to  say,  even  to  the  multitij.de  that  go  up  to 
Zion,  "Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by? 
come,  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  mine. 


164  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

Will  no  man  care  for  my  soul  V^  Ah,  my  friend, 
let  me  tell  you  in  the  beginning  of  your  career, 
that  you  cannot  expect  too  little  from  man,  nor 
too  much  from  God.  It  is  the  scandal  of  the 
church  of  Christ,  and  in  measure  also  of  its 
ministers,  that  in  many  cases  serious  inquirers 
after  salvation  are  shamefully  neglected.  But 
shall  this  discourage  you?  What,  when  all 
heaven  is  interested  on  your  behalf;  when 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  are  concerned  for 
you ;  when  the  blessed  angels  are  rejoicing  over 
you,  and  flying  on  wings  of  love  to  minister  to 
you  as  an  heir  of  salvation!  Look  to  God; 
and  if  the  neglect  of  Christians  should  lead  you 
to  a  more  simple  dependence  upon  Christ,  you 
will  be  a  gainer  in  the  end.  Too  many  friends 
and  too  much  attention  might  do  you  injury,  by 
leading  you  to  depend  too  much  upon  an  arm 
of  flesh. 

2.  Many  are  discouraged  by  witnessing  the 
low  state  of  religion  among  professors.  They 
see  no  counterpart  to  their  anxiety  in  some  who 
have  long  borne  the  Christian  name.  While 
they  themselves  are  crying,  *'What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?"  they  hear  little  from  the  lips  of 
many  Christian  professors,  but,  What  shall  we 


DISCOURAaEMENTS.  165 

eat  or  drink ;  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed ; 
what  is  the  news  of  the  day,  or  what  is  the 
state  of  trade?  They  see  so  much  worldly- 
mindedness,  so  much  imperfection  of  temper,  so 
many  things  unworthy  of  the  Christian  charac- 
ter, that  they  can  scarcely  believe  there  is  a 
reality  in  religion,  and  are  sometimes  ready  to 
give  all  up  as  a  mere  name.  Nay,  from  some  of 
these  very  professors  they  receive  plain  hints 
that  they  are  too  anxious,  too  precise,  too  ear- 
nest and  urgent.  0  ye  wicked  professors,  ye 
child-murderers — for  by  what  softer  name  can 
I  call  you,  in  thus  attempting  to  strangle  the 
children  of  God  in  the  birth  ? — I  beseech  you  to 
consider  the  mischief  you  are  doing,  and  aban- 
don this  effort  to  extinguish  the  solicitude  of 
souls  who  may  be  beginning  to  feel  the  ener- 
gies of  spiritual  life.  And  ye  inquirers  after 
salvation,  be  not  diverted  from  Christ  and 
eternal  glory.  If  these  men  are  living  below 
their  profession,  this  is  their  business,  not 
yours.  Salvation  is  necessary  for  you,  whether 
they  are  sincere  and  earnest  in  seeking  it  or 
not.  It  will  be  no  compensation  for  the  loss 
of  your  soul,  to  think  that  they  lost  theirs.  If 
there  were  not  yet  one  real  Christian,  this 


166  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

would  be  no  excuse  for  your  neglecting  to  be- 
come one.  Look  into  the  Bible,  rather  than  to 
the  professors  of  religion.  Instead  of  giving 
up  the  matter,  you  should  gather  this  inference 
from  what  you  see,  that  it  is  no  easy  thing  to 
be  a  Christian.  Should  the  unworthy  conduct 
of  some  professors  induce  you  to  relinquish  tlie 
pursuit  of  salvation,  it  will  be  poor  consolation 
in  the  bottomless  pit,  to  look  back  upon  the 
cause  of  your  ruin. 

3.  You  are  perhaps  discoui'aged  by  the  pros- 
ped  of  opposition  from  your  nearest  friends.  You 
see  them  all  worldly,  and  plainly  perceive  that 
your  real  conversion  to  God  will  place  you  in 
direct  opposition  to  them — that  your  becoming 
a  Christian,  and  acting  as  such,  will  bring  into 
your  house  the  scene  described  by  our  Lord, 
Matt.  10  :  34-38.  "0,"  say  you,  "how  fearful 
is  the  prospect  before  me !  my  profession  of  re- 
ligion would  sound  a  note  of  discord  in  a  family 
where  all  has  been  peace  till  now,  although  a 
peace  founded  on  a  common  disregard  of  relig- 
ion, and  would  introduce  confusion  and  strife 
where  all  has  been  union  and  harmony."  ''  I 
must  brave  the  anger  of  my  husband,"  says  the 
wife,  "  and  perhaps  alienate  that  heart  on  which 


DISCOURAaEMENTS.  ^  167 

my  spirit  has  hitherto  reposed  with  such  de- 
light.'^ Or  says  the  child,  "  I  must  seem  to  be 
disobedient  to  a  parent  whom  I  have  hitherto 
found  it  to  be  my  duty  and  bliss  to  obey.  0, 
can  I  do  it  ?  Is  there  no  other  way  to  heaven  ? 
Are  there  no  milder  terms  of  submission  to  the 
authority  of  Christ  ?"  None,  none  whatever.  I 
do  not  conceal  that  it  is  an  awful  alternative. 
I  should  be  destitute  of  all  sympathy,  my  friend, 
if  I  did  not  feel  for  you.  But  I  dare  not  with- 
draw the  cross.  My  soul  would  perish  with 
yours,  if  I  successfully  attempted  to  persuade 
you  that,  in  your  circumstances,  repentance, 
faith,  the  love  of  God,  and  all  the  other  graces 
and  virtues  included  in  decided  spiritual  relig- 
ion, could  be  dispensed  with.  God  will  not, 
cannot  relax  his  demands,  and  I  dare  not.  Hus- 
band and  wife,  parent  and  child,  houses  and 
lands,  worldly  reputation,  and  the  applause  of 
men,  must  all  give  place  to  Him.  He  demands 
the  heart,  and  he  has  infinitely  gracious  re- 
wards to  bestow  for  all  your  sacrifices  for  him. 
He  will  make  the  crown  infinitely  more  valua- 
ble than  the  cross  is  terrible.  You  may  be, 
you  ought  to  be,  discreet  in  your  profession ; . 
you  must  avoid  all  unnecessary  opposition  to 


168  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER 

the  wishes  of  unconverted  relatives ;  you  should, 
if  possible,  be  ten  times  more  obliging,  more 
devoted,  more  sweetly  kind  in  all  other  mat- 
ters; you  should  return  good  for  evil;  you 
should  exhibit  the  most  undisturbed  meekness ; 
you  should  try  to  conquer  violence  by  patience, 
but  you  must  not,  you  dare  not  give  up  concern 
for  your  soul ;  you  must  be  willing  to  die  of  a 
broken  heart,  and  by  the  wrongs  of  persecution, 
rather  than  give  up  the  pui'suit  of  salvation. 
Trust  in  God,  He  will  support  you.  If  he  call 
you  to  be  a  martyr  in  this  way,  he  will  first 
give  you  a  martyr^s  faith,  and  then  a  martyr's 
crown.  Let  the  following  impressive  fact  be 
read  by  you  with  solemn  awe. 

'*  An  accomplished  and  amiable  young  woman 

in  the  town  of ,  had  been  deeply  affected 

by  a  sense  of  her  spiritual  danger.  She  was 
the  only  child  of  a  fond  and  affectionate  parent. 
The  deep  impressions  which  accompanied  her 
discovery  of  guilt  and  depravity  awakened  all 
the  jealousies  of  the  father.  He  dreaded  the 
loss  of  that  sprightliness  and  vivacity  which 
constituted  the  life  of  his  domestic  circle.  He 
was  startled  by  the  answers  which  his  questions 
elicited ;  while  he  foresaw,  or  thought  he  fore- 


DISCOURAaEMENTS.  169 

saw,  an  encroachnieiit  on  the  hitherto  unbroken 
tranquillity  of  a  deceived  heart.  Efforts  were 
made  to  remove  the  cause  of  her  disquietude ; 
but  they  were  such  efforts  as  unsanctified  wis- 
dom directed.  The  Bible  at  last — 0  how  little 
may  a  parent  know  the  far-reaching  of  the  deed, 
when  he  snatches  the  word  of  life  from  the  hand 
of  a  child ! — the  Bible  and  other  books  of  relig- 
ion were  removed  from  her  possession,  and 
their  place  was  supplied  by  works  of  fiction. 
An  excursion  of  pleasure  was  proposed  and  de- 
clined ;  an  offer  of  gayer  amusement  shared  the 
same  fate ;  promises,  remonstrances,  and  threat- 
enings  followed.  But  the  father^s  infatuated 
perseverance  at  last  brought  compliance.  Alas, 
how  little  may  a  parent  be  aware  that  he  is 
adorning  his  offspring  with  the  fillets  of  death, 
and  leading  to  the  sacrifice  like  a  follower  of 
Moloch.  The  end  was  accomplished ;  thoughts 
of  piety  and  concern  for  the  immortal  future 
vanished  together.  But  0,  how  in  less  than  a 
year  was  the  gaudy  deception  exploded !  The 
fascinating  and  gay  L  . . .  M  . . .  was  prostrated 
by  a  fever  that  bade  defiance  to  medical  skill. 
The  approach  of  death  was  unequivocal,  and  the 
countenance  of  every  attendant  fell,  as  if  they 


i70  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

had  heard  the  flight  of  his  arrow.  I  see,  even 
now,  that  look  directed  to  the  father  by  the 
dying  martyr  of  folly.  The  glazed  eye  was  dim 
in  hopelessness ;  and  yet  there  seemed  a  some- 
thing in  its  expiring  rays  that  told  of  reproof 
and  tenderness  and  terror  in  the  same  glance. 
And  that  voice — its  tone  was  decided,  but  sepul- 
chral still — *  My  father,  last  year  I  would  have 
sought  the  Redeemer.     Fa — ther — your  child 

is^ .     Eternity  heard  the  remainder  of  the 

sentence,  for  it  was  not  uttered  in  time."*     In 
connection  with  this  striking  fact,  read  the  fol- 
lowing portions  of  Scripture.     Matt.  5  :  10-12 
10  :  21-39 ;   1  Cor.  4  :  9-13 ;   2  Tim.  2  :  10-13 
Heb.  10 :  23-39 ;  ch.  11 ;  1  Pet.  1 : 6-9 ;  4 :  12-19 
2  Pet.  2  :  20-22 ;  Rev.  7  :  9-17. 

4.  The  discouragements  of  others  lie  nearer 
home  still,  they  find  them  all  in  tlieir  own  hearts. 
The  feeling  with  many  is,  that  they  make  no 
progress;  their  views  gain  nothing  in  clear- 
ness, their  convictions  in  depth,  nor  their  heart 
in  peace.  They  are  neither  more  spiritual  nor 
more  decided  than  they  were ;  and  they  some- 
times, in  almost  hopeless  despondency,  are 
ready  to  give  up  the  whole  matter.  Such  a 
*  Letters  to  a  Friend. 


DISCOURAaEMENTS.  171 

state  of  mind  is  a  very  common  and  a  very 
perilous  one,  and  affords  ground  for  real  alarm. 
Your  duty  and  safety  lie  in  considering  that 
the  fault  is  in  yourself,  and  not  in  God ;  you, 
you  are  to  blame :  you  are  perhaps  halting  be- 
tween two  opinions ;  you  are  still  probably  en- 
deavoring to  compromise  between  religion  and 
the  world ;  you  are  not  giving  that  fixed,  de- 
voted attention  to  the  object  which  it  demands. 
You  must  therefore  go  afresh  to  the  work. 
You  must  feel  just  like  a  man  who  has  been 
swimming  in  a  tide  that  is  bearing  him  further 
from  the  shore,  and  who  feels  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  make  more  vigorous  efforts,  or  he  is 
inevitably  lost.  Give  up !  No,  any  thing  but 
that.  To  perish  now,  with  your  increased  light 
and  responsibility,  would  be  to  perish  terribly. 
While  you  are  carrying  on  these  heartless 
efforts,  you  may  die ;  and  in  what  a  state  I 

But  perhaps  your  complaints  are  the  result 
of  deep  anxiety,  from  the  consideration  that 
there  is  no  advance  till  you  are  really  estab- 
lished in  the  full  knowledge  of  faith  and  hope 
of  the  gospel.  To  this  established  state  you 
ought  to  come,  and  to  come  without  delay; 
and  nothing  hinders  you  from  coming  to  it  but 


172  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  and  to  this  point  I 
press  you  to  come.  But  should  your  know- 
ledge not  grow  as  rapidly,  nor  your  peace  in- 
crease as  solidly  as  you  expected  or  desired — 
should  you  feel  yourself  slow  of  growth  in  all 
that  appertains  to  Christian  and  happy  experi- 
ence, do  not  sink  into  a  heartless  and  despair- 
ing frame,  a  kind  of  desponding  pursuit  of 
salvation,  as  of  an  object  you  are  never  to  ob- 
tain. What  you  should  do  is  immediately  to 
repent,  and  believe  the  gospel;  you  cannot 
come  to  enlarged  views  and  to  settled  peace 
without  this.  Going  back,  or  giving  up,  is  just 
the  last  thing  you  should  think  of.  To  turn 
back  now,  would  be  to  turn  back  when  near 
the  cross.  Look  up,  sinner;  the  stupendous 
object  is  before  you,  close  by  you ;  look  up  to 
the  crucified  One.  It  is  further  back  to  your 
former  state  of  indifference,  than  to  the  place 
of  refuge.  Just  as  you  are,  with  no  more 
knowledge,  no  more  religious  feeling,  no  more 
comfort,  believe.  Look  up,  I  say  again,  to  the 
cross ;  it  is  distinctly  visible  to  the  eye  of  faith 
from  every  point  of  the  road  along  which  you 
are  journeying,  and  may  be  viewed  any  moment 
by  him  who  will  look  that  way.     It  is  the  sight 


BISCOUHAaEMENTS.  173 

of  that  dear  object  tliat  will  present  every 
other  in  a  right  light,  and  kindle  every  grace 
that  belongs  to  true  religion. 

But  may  it  not  be  that  your  obstructions  to 
a  more  rapid  growth  arise  from  some  specific 
cause?  Is  not  some  sin  indulged,  some  cor- 
ruption cherished  ?  Is  there  not  some  sacrifice 
which  you  are  unwilling  to  make,  something 
which  you  are  unwilling  to  surrender,  although 
your  judgment  tells  you  the  surrender  ought 
to  be  made,  and  your  conscience  demands  it  ? 
You  must  give  up  the  forbidden  thing,  or  your 
salvation  is  impossible :  that  one  sin  will,  like 
a  concealed  worm  at  the  root  of  a  flower,  eat 
out  the  very  life  of  your  religion,  and  cause  it 
to  droop,  wither,  and  die.  Is  it  a  companion 
from  whom  you  are  unwilling  to  separate,  but 
whose  society  is  hindering  your  progress? 
And  will  you  sacrifice  your  souFs  salvation, 
heaven,  and  eternal  glory,  all  that  is  dear  to 
you  as  an  immortal  creature,  and  deliberately 
choose  everlasting  perdition,  for  that  sin,  or 
that  friend  ?  Take  your  choice  between  heaven 
and  sacrifice,  hell  and  present  gratification.  Im- 
mortal man,  pause  and  ponder :  canst  thou  hesi- 
tate ?    There  is  both  awful  guilt  and  imminent 


174  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

peril  in  every  moment^s  delay.  What  if  God 
should,  as  he  justly  may,  send  forth  the  com- 
mand, "  He  is  joined  to  idols ;  let  him  alone.^^ 
Decide  then,  decide  at  once.  The  moment  in 
which  thou  readest  this  page  may  decide  it ;  foi 
if  thou  art  unwilling  to  give  up  thy  sinful  prac 
tice,  or  sinful  companion,  God  may  from  this 
moment  give  up  thee. 

But  perhaps  the  slowness  of  your  progress 
may  arise  from  another  cause,  I  mean  your 
neglect  of  the  promised  influence  and  help  ol 
the  Holy  Spirit.  You  have  been  too  self-confi- 
dent, and  are  now  feeling  the  consequence  of 
it.  At  one  time,  perhaps,  your  impressions 
were  deep,  your  convictions  strong,  your  frame 
lively,  and  your  feelings  much  excited;  but 
you  have  suffered  yourself  to  be  seduced  by 
Satan,  who  took  advantage  of  these  things, 
into  a  spirit  of  self-confidence  and  self-depend- 
ence. You  have  forgotten  that  in  you  there 
is  no  good  thing,  and  have  forsaken  the  Foun- 
tain of  living  waters.  You  have  never  doubted 
the  necessity  of  the  Spirit's  influence,  but  you 
have  neglected  it.  You  have  grieved  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  he  has  suspended  that  gracious  aid 
which  you  so  little  valued.    You  have  striven, 


DISCOURAaEMENTS.  175 

but  it  lias  been  in  your  own  strength ;  and  now 
you  find  that  strength  to  be  weakness  itself. 
Now  then  profit  by  your  error,  and  commit 
your  soul,  not  only  into  the  hands  of  Christ 
for  pardon,  but  into  the  hands  of  the  Spirit 
for  sanctification.  Now  lean  upon  that  divine 
power  which  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and 
to  do.  Live  in  the  Spirit ;  walk  in  the  Spirit ; 
pray  in  the  Spirit ;  strive  in  the  Spirit.  Open 
your  heart  to  his  gracious  influence;  and  let 
it  be  a  feeling,  as  well  as  a  conviction,  that 
your  spiritual  life  has  no  existence  separate 
from  his  indwelling  and  inworking  in  you. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  this  discourage- 
ment and  complaint  of  a  slow  growth  in  relig- 
ion are  founded  in  error,  and  the  result  of  dis- 
appointment operating  upon  an  humble  or  a 
sanguine  mind.  You  may  have  expected  at 
once  to  emerge  from  the  thick  darkness  of 
an  unconverted  state,  into  the  very  noontide 
brightness  of  a  full  establishment  in  faith, 
hope,  and  love.  You  expected,  perhaps,  by 
one  stride,  or  rather  bound,  to  reach  the  posi- 
tion of  experienced  Christians.  But  remem- 
ber, that  both  in  nature  and  in  grace,  the 
works  of  God  come  gradually  to  maturity. 


176  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

There  is  first  the  babe,  then  the  young  man, 
then  the  adult :  and  what  a  feeble  glimmering 
spark  of  life  is  there  sometimes  in  a  new-born 
child ;  it  is  difficult  to  determine  whether  it  is 
alive  or  dead;  and  even  when  unequivocal 
signs  of  life  appear,  what  vigilant  care  is  neces- 
sary to  preserve  the  spark  from  being  extin- 
guished. Such  has  been  the  unpromising  con- 
dition in  which  many  a  strong  and  long-lived 
man  has  commenced  his  existence.  How  anal- 
ogous to  this  is  the  work  of  grace  in  the  soul. 
So  again  with  the  growth  of  corn,  there  is 
first  the  blade,  then  the  stalk,  then  the  ear; 
and  as  it  is  in  the  field  of  nature,  so  is  often 
the  growth  of  religion  in  the  heart  of  man. 
We  must  not  "  despise  the  day  of  small  things,^' 
either  in  ourselves  or  others,  for  God  does  not. 
It  is  said  of  our  divine  Redeemer,  "  He  shall 
feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd;"  and  in  his 
flock  there  are  lambs  which  can  neither  travel 
fast  nor  far ;  and  what  will  he  do  with  them  ? 
"  He  shall  gather  them  with  his  arms,  and  car- 
ry them  in  his  bosom" — not  on  his  shoulder, 
the  emblem  of  strength,  but  in  his  bosom,  the 
image  of  tender  love — "and  shall  gently  lead 
those  that  are  with  young" — ^burdened  with 


DISCOUHAGEMENTS.  177 

many  fears  and  painful  apprehensions.  How 
kindly  did  he  bear  with  the  dulness  and  in- 
firmities and  mistakes  of  his  disciples ;  how 
gently  did  he  correct  the  errors  and  sustain 
the  minds  of  the  two  friends  on  their  sad  and 
gloomy  walk  to  Emmaue,  and  keep  alive  the 
last  glimmering  spark  of  hope  just  when  it  was 
ready  to  expire  in  their  bosom.  How  gra- 
ciously, in  his  addresses  to  the  seven  churches 
in  Asia,  did  he  mention  all  the  good  he  could 
find  among  them,  not  overlooking  even  the 
"  little  strength"  that  was  left  in  that  of  Phil- 
adelphia. Think  of  this,  disheartened  inquirer. 
Trust  wholly  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  dawn  of  true  piety  in  thy  heart  shall  shine 
brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day; 
thy  infantine  strength  will  grow  to  manly 
power ;  thy  tender  blade  shall  become  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear.  Thou  art  looking  to  a  Sav- 
iour who  "will  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor 
quench  the  smoking  flax."  Weak  grace  is  real 
grace,  and  is  in  connection  with  an  infinite 
source,  in  His  fulness,  who  is  "  the  God  of  all 
grace,"  and  who  "  giveth  more  grace."  It  is 
well  to  be  humble,  and  to  think  meanly  of  your 
attainments,  but  remember,  trees  are  not  dead 

Inquirer.  1 2 


178  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

because  they  are  not  laden  at  once  with  fruit 
I  saj  not  these  things  to  paralyze  your  exer 
tions  after  high  attainments — for  he  who  ic 
satisfied  with  the  grace  he  has,  has  in  reality 
none — ^but  to  check  despondency,  and  prevent 
that  disheartening  sense  of  deficiency  which 
benumbs  exertion  by  extinguishing  hope. 

5.  Great  discouragement  has  been  experi- 
enced by  others,  on  account  of  relapses  and 
backslidings  into  actual  sins. 

It  is,  I  admit,  a  grievous  aggravation  of  sin, 
to  fall  into  it  after  men  have  been  awakened 
and  convinced;  and  as  there  is  much  danger 
of  this,  the  word  of  God  contains  many  awful 
warnings  against  it,  which  have  been  already 
referred  to.  We  ought,  therefore,  to  use  the 
greatest  watchfulness,  and  to  present  the  most 
fervent  prayer  to  be  kept  from  these  sins ;  and 
our  vigilance  should  be  doubled,  in  regard  to 
those  temptations  to  which  we  are  most  ex- 
posed from  the  peculiarity  of  our  constitution, 
situation,  or  any  other  circumstances.  Yet 
sometimes  even  they  who  have  sincerely  and 
earnestly  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  salvation, 
have  been,  through  a  want  of  watchfulness, 
betrayed  again  into  those  sins  from  which  they 


DISCOURAGE  ME  NTS.  ]79 

had  been  delivered.  In  such  cases  the  back- 
slider, under  the  united  influence  of  remorse 
and  despondency,  is  apt  to  give  up  all  for  lost, 
and  under  the  idea  that  he  shall  never  obtain 
salvation,  renounce  the  further  pursuit  of  it. 
Now  I  would  say  to  you,  that  while  you  can- 
not be  too  deeply  humbled  for  such  relapses, 
you  ought  not  to  think  that  your  case  is  despe- 
rate. If  such  sins  could  not  be  pardoned,  and 
such  sinners  could  not  be  restored,  who  then 
could  be  saved  ?  "  But  it  is  not  so  much  a 
doubt  of  pardon  for  the  past,"  you  say,  ''  that 
discourages  me,  as  a  fear  of  falling  into  sin  in 
future."  You  find  your  heart  so  treacherous, 
your  purposes  so  frail,  your  corruptions  so 
strong,  and  your  temptations  so  great — ^you 
have  been  so  often  victorious,  and  then  again 
have  been  so  often  conquered,  that  you  quite 
despair  of  success.  What  mean  these  despond- 
ing expressions?  They  seem  to  say,  either 
that  there  is  no  help  for  you  but  in  yourself,  or 
that  God,  who  must  be  your  helper,  is  not  able 
to  deliver  you.  Both  are  false.  There  is  no 
help  at  all  in  you,  but  there  is  all-sufficient  help 
in  God.  Courage,  trembling  sinner,  God  is 
almighty.    Humble  yourself  under  his  mighty 


180  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

hand  for  the  past,  and  then  rise  Tjp  and  lean 
upon  his  mighty  arm  for  the  future.  The  blood 
of  Christ  can  cleanse  the  conscience  from  the 
guilt  of  past  sin,  and  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  can  preserve  you  from  the  commission 
of  future  sin ;  the  backsliding  can  be  forgiven, 
and  the  backslider  himself  restored,  strength- 
ened, confirmed,  and  made  more  than  conqueror, 
as  thousands  already  have  been. 


CAUTIONS.  181 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CAUTIONS. 

1.  Do  not  seek  to  relieve  your  solicitude,  or 
settle  your  religious  peace,  by  making  a  pro- 
fession of  religion. 

This  is  done  by  many  persons  who,  after 
having  remained  for  a  long  time  in  unrelieved 
solicitude,  and  after  having  tried  all  methods 
but  the  right  one  for  gaining  peace,  determine 
to  enter  into  church-fellowship,  and  to  receive 
the  Lord's  supper,  with  the  hope  of  obtaining 
that  comfort  which  they  have  hitherto  sought 
in  vain.  But  does  not  this  look  like  a  self- 
righteous  dependence  upon  duties?  In  what 
way  can  the  Lord's  supper  give  relief  to  a  bur- 
dened conscience?  Is  there  any  thing  more 
meritorious  in  that  ordinance  than  in  any 
other  ?  Perhaps  you  gay  that  the  emblems  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  our  Lord  will  more  deep- 
ly and  powerfully  impress  the  mind  through 
the  medium  of  the  senses.  So  they  will;  but 
then  the  mind  must  be  in  a  state  of  knowledge 


182  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

and  faith  to  receive  the  impression :  but  I  am 
now  supposing  that  you  are  not  yet  in  that 
state,  that  you  have  never  yet  committed  your 
soul  into  the  hands  of  Christ  for  a  full  and  free 
salvation ;  and  in  such  a  state  of  mind  to  go  to 
the  table  of  the  Lord  or  the  church  for  peace, 
is  to  expect  that  they  can  do  that  for  you 
which  the  work  of  Christ  cannot  do.  Is  not 
the  blood  of  Christ  able  to  take  away  your 
sins?  Is  any  thing  necessary  to  be  added  to 
the  righteousness  of  the  Saviour  for  your  justi- 
fication ?  What  can  ordinances  do  for  you,  if 
this  be  insuJEcient  to  save  you? 

The  sinner  that  seeks  to  lose  his  burden  of 
guilt  anywhere,  whether  it  be  at  the  prayer- 
meeting  or  the  sacramental  table,  besides  the 
cross  of  Christ,  is  in  delusion.  It  is  possible, 
nay,  probable,  that  by  going  to  the  Lord's  sup- 
per you  may  feel  for  the  time  an  abatement  of 
yoiu'  solicitude ;  your  imagination  may  be  ex- 
cited, your  feelings  moved ;  and  mistaking  this 
for  faith,  you  may  have  peace ;  but  it  will  be  a 
false  or  a  transient  one.  Either  you  will  fall 
asleep  in  self-deception,  or  your  anxiety  will 
soon  return,  increased  by  an  apprehension  that 
you  have  added  sin  to  sin  by  receiving  the 


CAUTIONS.  183 

Lord's  supper  in  an  unprepared  state  of  mind. 
This  institution  is  intended,  not  to  give  peace 
to  sinners,  but  consolation  and  edification  to 
believers ;  not  to  bring  us  into  a  state  of  faith, 
but  to  be  received  in  faith ;  not  to  remove  the 
burden  of  sin  from  the  conscience,  but  to  keep 
in  remembrance  that  great  sacrifice  by  which 
the  burden  is  removed.  True  it  is,  that  God 
may  reveal  himself  to  the  sinner  in  the  break- 
ing of  bread ;  but  the  question  is,  not  what  ho 
may  do,  but  what  he  may  be  expected  to  do ; 
and  even  in  this  case,  what  is  it  that  relieves  the 
conscience  of  its  burden  and  gives  peace  to  the 
mind?  Surely  not  the  ordinance  itself,  but  the 
great  truth  of  Christ's  sacrifice  for  sin,  as  set 
forth  by  it.  I  do  not  intend  by  these  remarks 
to  insist  on  the  necessity  of  a  full  assurance  of 
hope,  as  a  necessary  qualification  for  a  right 
reception  of  the  Lord's  supper ;  but  certainly 
there  ought  to  be  real,  even  if  it  be  but  weak 
faith ;  for  how  else  can  we  "  discern  the  Lord's 
body?"  Nothing,  no,  nothing  can  give  the  guilty 
conscience  peace,  or  take  away  our  sins,  but 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ;  and  to  pass  by 
the  cross  of  the  Redeemer  without  peace  of 
mind,  in  the  hope  of  finding  it  in  ordinances, 


184  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER, 

is  unquestionably  to  depend  for  acceptance 
with  God  upon  our  own  religious  duties,  instead 
of  the  work  of  the  Saviour.  The  frame  of 
mind  in  which  we  should  receive  the  memo- 
rials of  redeeming  love,  is  that  of  an  humble, 
thankful,  and  peaceful  reliance  upon  the  medi- 
ation of  our  divine  Lord  for  pardon  and  eter- 
nal life. 

2.  It  is  of  great  consequence,  that  in  the 
early  stages  of  your  course  you  should  abstain 
as  much  as  possible  from  a  spirit  of  controversy. 

Your  great  concern  is  to  find  out  the  path 
of  eternal  happiness,  and  enter  upon  it.  Salva- 
tion is  your  great  object,  or  rather,  the  way  of 
obtaining  it.  Your  cry  is,  "  Life,  eternal  life  f 
and  your  course  should  be  direct  to  the  cross 
of  the  Redeemer.  Nothing  but  what  relates 
immediately  to  your  reconciliation  with  God 
should  be  allowed  to  engage  your  attention. 
Suffer  not  your  mind,  then,  to  be  diverted  from 
such  subjects  as  the  "  new  birth,"  or  the  justifi- 
cation of  your  soul  before  God,  to  the  thorny 
controversies  which  often  unhappily  exist  ever, 
in  the  church  of  God.  Take  up  nothing  con- 
troversially. The  subjects  of  disputation  are 
strong  meat  for  adults,  which  will  choke  and 


CAUTIONS  185 

destroy  the  babe  in  Christ;  and  even  the 
former  cannot  feed  much  upon  them  without 
having  their  spiritual  health  impaired,  and 
their  soul  filled  with  rank  and  unhealthy  hu- 
mors. Or,  to  change  the  metaphor,  the  man 
locked  up  in  the  condemned  cell,  under  sen- 
tence of  death,  but  who  has  hope  of  pardon 
and  is  taking  steps  to  obtain  it,  suffers  not  his 
mind  to  be  drawn  aside  from  his  condition  by 
the  questions  which  may  be  very  properly  dis- 
cussed by  the  citizen  and  the  patriot.  If  any 
one  were  to  carry  him  a  newspaper,  and  en- 
deavor to  engage  him  as  a  partisan  in  some 
political  strife,  he  would  reply,  with  a  look  of 
astonishment  that  such  topics  should  be  ob- 
truded on  his  notice,  "  What  are  these  matters 
to  a  man  condemned  to  die?  Assist  me  in 
gaining  a  pardon,  and  you  will  do  me  some 
service ;  but  do  not  engage  for  such  matters  a 
moment  of  that  time  which  should  be  devoted 
to  save  me  from  death.  When  I  am  restored 
to  liberty  I  can  think  of  politics,  but  not  now." 
So  let  the  inquirer  act  and  say,  in  reference  to 
those  proselyting  but  injudicious  persons  who 
by  controversy  would  meet  and  turn  away  the 
Bolicitude  which  is  seeking  the  way  of  salva- 


186  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

tion.  You  can  study  these  topics  hereafter, 
but  at  present  "  stand  ye  in  the  ways,  and  see, 
and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good 
way,  and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find  rest 
for  your  souls."  Jer.  6  :  16.  Read  your  Bible 
and  plain  practical  books,  rather  than  contro- 
versial ones;  be  much  in  prayer  and  silent 
meditation ;  preserve  a  tranquil  and  unruffled 
mind,  for  it  is  in  the  stillness  of  devotional 
feeling,  and  the  peace  of  devout  meditation, 
and  the  quiet  of  untroubled  thoughts,  that  the 
true  light  shineth  into  the  soul,  and  the  still 
small  voice  of  the  Spirit  of  peace  is  heard. 
Many,  adopting  a  different  course,  have  plunged 
into  the  depths  of  controversy  as  soon  as  they 
became  concerned  about  religion,  and  have  lost 
charity  in  the  professed  pursuit  after  truth ; 
and  instead  of  becoming  humble,  holy,  peaceful 
Christians,  have  turned  out  conceited,  stormy, 
and  restless  polemics.  In  an  early  stage  of 
their  career  the  penitent  was  lost  in  the 
zealot ;  in  their  subsequent  progress  they  took 
up  with  a  religion  of  opinions,  instead  of  sanc- 
tified affections ;  and  finished  their  course,  it 
may  be  feared,  not  amidst  the  light  and  love 
of  heaven,  but  in  that  world  of  unsanctified 


CAUTIONS.  187 

knowledge  where  "  the  devils  believe  and  trem- 
ble." 

3.  It  is  necessary  to  caution  you  against  a 
spirit  of  curiosity  as  well  as  controversy. 

You  ought  to  seek  after  knowledge,  as  I 
have  already  stated.  The  Scripture  abounds 
in  admonitions  on  this  head,  and  in  reproofs  to 
those  who  repose  in  indolence  upon  the  lap  of 
ignorance.  Diligence  in  endeavors  to  grow  in 
knowledge  has  the  promise  of  success :  "  Then 
shall  ye  know,  if  ye  follow  on  to  know  the 
Lord."  Hosea  6  : 3.  But  this  is  altogether 
distinct  from  a  spirit  of  unhallowed  curiosity. 
The  temper  which  I  am  anxious  to  guard  you 
against,  shows  itself  in  various  ways;  some- 
times in  rambling  about  from  place  to  place  of 
public  worship.  In  some  cases  this  arises  from 
a  restlessness  and  uneasiness  of  mind,  which 
should  be  repressed  rather  than  cherished. 
Like  Noah^s  raven,  they  wander  about  seeking 
rest,  but  find  none ;  or  rather,  like  a  person  in  a 
fever,  forgetting  that  the  cause  of  disquietude 
is  in  themselves,  they  continually  change  their 
place  in  the  vain  hope  of  obtaining  that  rest 
which  can  never  come  till  their  condition  is 
altered.    Finding  no  comfort  under  one  preach- 


188  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

er,  they  impute  the  blame  to  his  sermons,  and 
ramble  off  to  another,  under  whose  ministry 
they  gain  a  little  ease  for  a  while ;  but  merely 
by  having  their  attention  drawn  away  for  a 
season  from  its  usual  track  of  thought.  The 
novelty  soon  ceases,  and  he  is  forsaken  for  an- 
other, till  they  have  gone  the  whole  round  of 
places  within  their  reach,  and  they  leave  the 
last  as  far  from  peace  as  they  were  when  they 
left  the  first.  Guard  against  this  error,  and 
learn  that  it  is  in  Christ,  and  Christ  alone, 
and  not  in  any  particular  place  of  worship,  or 
under  any  particular  ministry,  that  you  can 
find  rest  and  peace.  It  is  the  glorious  doc- 
trine of  a  free,  full,  and  present  salvation  in 
Christ,  that  must  be  the  pillow  of  your  poor 
aching  and  restless  head,  and  not  any  partic- 
ular manner  or  method  of  representing  that 
doctrine. 

But  this  rambling  spirit  is  sometimes  merely 
the  eagerness  of  curiosity.  Some  persons  are 
ever  to  be  seen  in  any  place  where  any  thing 
out  of  the  ordinary  course  is  going  on;  they 
are  to  be  seen  at  all  times,  all  places,  and  all 
occasions,  when  and  where  a  popular  preacher 
is  to  be  heard,  or  any  of  the  stimulating  varie- 


Cr  THE  ^ 

CAUTI0NSj^J^JTT"||t6|IT 

ties  whicli  abound  in  the  religious  world  are.to^^ 
be  found.  This  habit,  however,  is  not  friendly  -^ 
to  the  growth  of  piety,  or  the  progress  of  a 
work  of  grace  in  the  soul.  Even  the  public 
meetings  of  our  religious  institutions  are  not 
always  the  best  atmosphere  for  the  anxious 
inquirer  to  breathe.  There  is  a  tenderness,  a 
delicacy,  and  a  pensiveness  in  the  feelings  of  a 
mind  recently  awakened  to  the  concerns  of  the 
soul,  which  finds  little  that  is  congenial  in  the 
comparatively  secular  aspect  of  some  of  those 
assemblies.  Eloquence  "and  anecdote,  as  they 
are  frequently  employed  on  such  occasions, 
have  but  little  that  is  calculated  to  deepen  con- 
viction or  relieve  anxiety,  but  often  much  to- 
diminish  the  one  and  divert  the  other.  If,  in- 
deed, our  anniversaries  were  always  conducted 
Avith  that  solemnity  and  seriousness  which  thetr 
object  seems  to  require,  then  might  inquirers 
after  salvation  attend  them  as  one  of  the  means 
of  grace ;  but  in  many  cases  it  may  be  safer  to 
court  retirement,  to  seek  to  grow  in  deeper 
seriousness,  and  to  surrender  one's  self  to  the 
dominion  of  conscience,  and  the  teaching  of 
God  the  Holy  Spirit. 
But  curiosity  may  be  indulged  another  way : 


190  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

I  mean  a  disposition  to  pry  into  the  deep  mys- 
teries, the  hidden  things,  the  unrevealed  secrets 
of  God.  Even  the  most  established  Christians, 
yea,  the  profoundest  and  most  philosophic  di- 
vines may  and  do  sometimes  push  their  inqui- 
ries too  far,  and  presumptuously  put  forth  their 
hand  to  draw  aside  the  veil  of  the  holy  of 
holies.  But  you  especially  should  abstain  from 
this:  such  questions  as  the  origin  of  moral 
evil,  the  reconcilableness  of  God's  foreknow- 
ledge with  the  freedom  of  man,  the  divine  pur- 
poses, the  symbolical  and  unfulfilled  prophecies, 
with  other  subjects  of  equal  difficulty,  are  most 
unsuitable  for  you  in  your  present  state  of 
mind.  What  you  have  to  do  with  is  the  sim- 
plest and  plainest  truths  of  the  gospel.  Your 
concern  is  to  obtain  pardon  and  peace,  and  fulfil 
the  responsibilities  resting  on  your  own  soul; 
and  to  do  this,  you  must  not  raise  mists  and 
clouds  of  metaphysics  around  the  cross,  but  look 
at  it  as  it  is  presented  in  the  word  of  God,  and 
as  it  there  appears,  clearly,  simply,  and  alone. 
It  has  been  said,  that  in  the  Scripture  there 
are  depths  in  ^hich  an  elephant  may  swim,  and 
shallows  which  a  lamb  may  ford ;  your  business 
is  at  present  with  the  shallows,  and  to  venture 


CAUTIONS.  191 

into  the  depths  is  a  perilous  attempt,  which  I 
would  not  advise  you  to  make. 

4.  You  should  beware  of  setting  up  other 
standards  of  personal  religion  than  the  word  of 
God,  and  making  the  religious  experience  of 
other  Christians  a  test  of  the  truth  and  reality 
of  your  own. 

The  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  is  the  true 
standard  of  godliness ;  and  provided  your  views, 
feelings,  and  conduct  are  conformed  to  this,  it 
is  of  no  consequence  that  they  do  not  harmonize 
exactly  with  what  others  experience.  Not  that 
there  is  any  radical  disagreement  in  the  real " 
piety  of  genuine  Christians,  but  with  substan 
tial  agreement  there  may  be  circumstantial 
differences;  there  may  be  unity  of  genus,  yet 
variety  of  species.  All  true  Christians  love 
God,  hate  sin,  feel  Christ  to  be  precious,  addict 
themselves  to  prayer,  live  holily ;  but  they  may 
not  have  been  brought  to  this  state  by  the  same 
methods,  nor  carry  it  forward  to  the  same  de- 
gree of  perfection.  In  reading  religious  biog- 
raphy, you  will  see  great  dissimilarity  in  the 
experience  of  God's  people,  and  will  be  some- 
times in  danger  of  sinking  into  great  distress, 
because  you  do  not  feel  in  all  points  as  the 


I9t  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIREK.. 

saints  did  whose  lives  are  before  you.  When 
you  meet  with  instances  of  more  than  usual 
elevation  of  personal  religion,  of  nearer  ap- 
proaches than  common  to  perfection,  do  not 
conclude  that  you  have  no  piety  because  you 
do  not  equal  them,  but  rather  see  what  you  may 
become ;  be  humbled  that  you  are  not  like  them, 
and  let  their  example  stimulate  your  energies, 
but  not  extinguish  your  hopes,  nor  paralyze 
your  efforts. 

5.  I  caution  you  not  to  allow  your  convictions 
to  be  shaken,  nor  your  mind  to  be  staggered  by 
those  instances  of  backsliding  or  apostasy  which 
sometimes  occur  among  professors  of  religion, 
and  even  such  as  were  once  accounted  eminent 
professors. 

It  does  indeed  often  give  an  awful  shock  to 
the  feelings  and  the  steadfastness  of  inquirers, 
to  witness  the  fall  of  those  who  once  stood  high 
in  the  affection  of  the  church  and  the  esteem 
of  the  world.  Not  a  few,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
have  from  that  time  gone  back,  and  walked 
the  ways  of  God  no  more.  But  how  irrational, 
how  guilty  is  such  conduct.  Did  not  Christ 
forewarn  us  to  expect  such  instances,  when  he 
said,  "  Woe  to  the  world  because  of  offences : 


CAUTIONS.  193 

it  must  needs  be  that  offences  come,  but  woe 
to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh/^ 
Matt.  18  :  7.  Such  cases,  therefore,  are  but 
the  accomplishment  of  a  prophecy,  and  prove, 
like  other  fulfilled  predictions,  the  inspiration 
of  Him  by  whom  they  were  delivered.  And 
they  prove  in  another  way,  also,  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Christian  religion ;  for  if  it  had 
not  been  of  God,  it  must  have  been  destroyed 
long  since  by  the  misconduct  of  its  professed 
friends,  from  which  it  has  stood  in  far  greater 
danger  than  from  the  enmity  of  its  avowed 
enemies.  Counterfeits  are  a  presumptive  proof 
of  the  excellence  of  that  which  they  profess  to 
imitate,  for  who  is  at  the  trouble  of  imitating 
what  is  worthless?  Do  not,  then,  permit  your 
mind  to  be  affected  by  the  conduct  of  false 
professors,  at  least  in  any  other  way  than  that 
of  deep  grief  that  such  things  should  occur  to 
them,  and  of  anxious  prayerful  care  that  they 
may  never  be  repeated  in  you.  Be  this  your 
Bupplication : 

'*  Lord,  let  not  all  my  hopes  be  vain,  t 

Create  my  heart  entirely  new — 
Which  hypocrites  could  ne'er  attain, 
Which  false  apostates  never  knew.'' 

Inquirer.  l  O 


194  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 


CHAPTER   X. 

ENCOURAaEMENTS. 

Among  all  the  objects  of  human  desire  and 
pursuit,  there  is  not  one  which  we  have  so 
much  encouragement  to  seek,  or  to  hope  for — 
there  is  not  one,  in  reference  to  which  despon- 
dency is  so  much  out  of  place — there  is  not  one 
to  which  indubitable  certainty  so  surely  be- 
longs, as  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  if  it  be  sin- 
cerely desired  and  scripturally  sought.  The 
whole  Bible  is  one  vast  encouragement  to  seek 
for  eternal  life,  the  death  of  Christ  is  another, 
and  the  existence  and  history  of  the  church  of 
God  upon  earth  is  a  third.  Men  may  despond 
of  gaining  wealth,  or  fame,  or  rank,  or  health, 
but  no  man  out  of  hell  need  despond  of  gaining 
salvation.  It  is  nea:  er  to  us,  and  more  within 
our  reach,  than  any  other  blessing  that  we  can 
name  or  think  of.  Our  feelings  in  regard  to 
^  earthly  possessions  can  never  rise  higher  than 
hope;   but  in  regard  to   salvation,  they  may 


ENCOUHAaEMENTS.  195 

take  the  character  of  certainty,  provided  we 
comply  with  the  terms  of  the  gospel. 

1.  It  is  one  great  source  of  encouragement, 
that  whatever  difficulties  lie  in  our  way,  all 
centre  in  ourselves, 

God  will  not,  and  Satan  and  the  world  can- 
not hinder  our  salvation.  There  is  no  obstacle 
which  is  in  itself  insurmountable,  no  enemy 
invincible,  no  objection  unanswerable.  If  a 
man  had  any  other  object  in  view,  for  the  at- 
tainment of  which  there  existed  no  difficulty 
out  of  himself,  he  would  feel  greatly  encour- 
aged, and  be  ready  to  congratulate  himself  as 
tolerably  certain  of  success.  Reader,  the  only 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  thy  salvation  is  in  thy- 
self. True  it  is,  there  are  many  and  great 
ones  there,  the  least  of  which  thine  own 
strength  is  too  weak  to  surmount ;  but  the 
Lord  God  Omnipotent  has  engaged  to  thee 
his  power,  if  thou  art  willing  to  be  helped; 
and  therefore,  in  this  view  of  the  case,  even 
thine  own  weakness  is  no  insurmountable  ob- 
stacle. The  only  question  is,  "Art  thou  sin- 
cerely willing  and  anxious  to  be  saved  ?" 
Once  made  truly  willing,  what  is  to  hinder  thy 
salvation?     Dwell  again   and   aeain   on  this 


196  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIREH. 

simple  idea,  for  it  is  full  of  encouragement, 
"  The  only  difficulty  in  my  way  to  heaven  is 
that  which  exists  in  my  own  heart,  and  God  is 
willing  to  remove  that." 

2.  It  is  a  great  encouragement  that  God's 
mind  is  so  full  of  good-will  towards  us,  and  that 
his  heart  is  so  set  upon  our  salvation. 

If  we  had  reason  to  suppose  that  he  was 
reluctant  to  save  us — that  his  mind  was  upon 
the  balance  between  friendship  and  hostility — 
that  it  needed  much  importunity  to  entreat 
him  to  be  merciful,  and  that  he  granted  us  sal- 
vation unwillingly  and  grudgingly,  this  would 
indeed  be  discouraging,  and  might  induce  a 
fear  that  we  should  not  succeed.  But  the  con- 
trary is  the  fact.  "  God  is  love."  "  He  is 
gracious  and  full  of  compassion,"  "is  rich  in 
mercy,"  and  "  plenteous  in  mercy."  He  even 
"  delighteth  in  mercy."  "  He  is  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should 
come  to  repentance."  "  He  delig'hteth  not  in 
the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  would  rather  that  he 
should  turn  from  his  wickedness  and  live." 
Yea,  he  confirms  it  by  an  oath :  "As  I  live," 
saith  the  Lord,  "I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  the  wicked."     Ezek.  33  :  11.     Yea,  it 


ENCOURAaEMENTS.  197 

is  said  that  the  salvation  of  sinners  is  so  much 
his  delight,  that  he  has  engaged  it  shall  be 
carried  on :  "  The  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall 
prosper  in  his  hands."  Now  by  the  pleasure 
of  the  Lord  we  are  to  understand  the  salva- 
tion of  sinners.  Nor  is  this  all,  for  it  is  af- 
firmed that  "  the  Lord  taketh  pleasure  in  them 
that  hope  in  his  mercy."  Psa.  147  :  11.  We 
cannot  please  him  better  than  by  asking  him  to 
save  us,  and  by  expecting  salvation  at  his  hands. 
Now,  inquirer,  take  this  delightful  view  of 
God^s  disposition  towards  you ;  for  this  is  the 
right  one.  He  is  love ;  he  has  an  infinite  de- 
light in  making  his  creatures  happy.  It  is  true 
his  love  is  a  holy  love,  and  therefore  the  more 
to  be  depended  upon.  Having  made  provision 
in  the  gift  and  mediation  of  Christ  for  saving 
you  in  a  way  consistent  with  his  truth  and 
holiness  and  justice,  and  thus  removed  every 
obstacle  out  of  the  way  of  the  flowing  forth  of 
his  love  towards  you,  he  is  infinitely  intent  on 
saving  and  blessing  you.  All  your  dark  de- 
sponding thoughts  of  him  are  unjust  and  inju- 
rious to  his  mercy.  To  conceive  of  him  as 
unwilling  to  save  you,  is  a  slander  upon  his 
love,  a  false  and  foul  calumny  upon  his  grace. 


198  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

If  he  were  with  difficulty  persuaded  to  save 
you,  why  did  he  give  his  Son  to  die  for  you? 
The  salvation  of  your  soul,  the  salvation  of 
millions  of  souls,  the  salvation  of  the  whole 
world,  is  not  so  great  an  act  of  love  as  the  gift 
of  Jesus  Christ,  After  this  you  need  not  won- 
der at  any  thing,  nor  doubt  any  thing.  "  He 
that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  gave  him  up 
for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely 
give  us  all  things  ?"  Rom.  8  :  32.  You  have 
God^s  mind  and  heart  and  purpose  and  attri- 
butes all  on  the  side  of  your  salvation,  and  is 
not  this  encouragement  enough  ? 

3.  Consider  the  mind,  character,  and  work  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

He  came  on  purpose  to  save  sinners ;  he  has 
done  every  thing  necessary  for  their  salvation, 
he  is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost ;  he  has  in- 
vited all  to  him  for  salvation ;  he  has  promised 
to  save  them ;  and  will  he  now  fail  ?  Think 
of  the  glory  of  his  person,  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh;  think  of  the  design  of  his  incarnation, 
sufferings,  and  death ;  think  of  the  perfection 
of  his  work  in  satisfying  divine  justice,  magni- 
fying the  law,  sustaining  the  moral  government 
of  God  in  all  its  purity,  dignity,  and  effective 


ENGOURAaEMENTS.  199 

Hess ;  tluiik  of  the  love  of  his  heart,  tne  power 
of  his  arm,  and  the  connection  between  his 
mediatorial  renown  and  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners; think  of  his  universal  dominion  over 
angels,  devils,  men,  nature,  providence;  think 
of  his  continued  and  prevailing  intercession  at 
the  right  hand  of  God ;  think  of  his  universal 
invitations,  and  his  absolute  promises:  what 
topics  these,  what  sources  of  encouragement! 
How  much  is  his  heart  fixed  upon  the  salvation 
of  sinners :  this  was  "  the  joy  set  before  him,'' 
and  for  which  "  he  endured  the  cross,  despising 
the  shame  f  this  is  "  the  travail  of  his  soul,"  and 
by  this  its  ineffable  longings  will  be  satisfied. 
Your  salvation  is  his  business,  and  the  accom- 
plishment of  it  will  be  his  reward.  If  he  could 
be  conceived  to  be  indifferent  to  your  salvation, 
will  he  be  indifferent  to  his  own  glory?  Will 
he  belie  his  own  name,  and  destroy  his  own 
work,  and  falsify  his  own  promises,  and  throw 
away  his  own  reward,  and  terminate  his  own 
renown  as  a  Saviour,  by  refusing,  when  you 
trust  in  him,  to  save  you  ?  Is  it  probable  ?  Is 
it  possible  ? 

4.  Dwell  upon  the  infinite  and  oil-sufficient  re- 
sources of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


200  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

This  divine  Agent  is  as  omnipotent  to  sane* 
tify,  as  the  power  of  God  was  in  the  beginning 
to  create  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  If  you 
were  cast  upon  your  own  resources,  you  might 
well  exclaim,  "Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things  ?"  and  abandon  the  hope  of  salvation 
for  fixed  and  impervious  despair.  But  the 
economy  of  redemption  provides  no  less  for  the 
effectual  application  of  its  benefits  by  the  work 
of  the.  Holy  Ghost,  than  for  the  procurement 
of  them  by  the  mediation  of  Christ;  and  the 
claims  of  the  Godhead  were  not  more  com- 
pletely foreseen  and  provided  for  by  the  latter, 
than  all  the  weakness  and  wants  and  wickedness 
of  the  human  heart  were  foreseen  and  provided 
for  also  by  the  former.  There  is  a  glorious 
completeness  in  the  scheme  of  redemption: 
even  the  suspicious  eye  of  unbelief  and  the 
searching  look  of  a  troubled  and  anxious  con- 
science can  find  out  no  defect.  The  blindness 
of  your  judgment ;  the  hardness  and  deceitful- 
ness  of  your  heart ;  the  perversity  of  your  will ; 
the  deadness  of  your  conscience ;  the  wildness 
of  your  imagination;  the  disorder  of  your 
passions;  your  backwardness  to  good;  your 
proneness  to  evil;  your  reluctance  to  deter- 


ENCOURAGEMENTS.  201 

mine ;  your  irresoluteness ;  your  timidity ;  your 
fickleness — all,  all  have  been  foreseen  and  pro- 
vided for  in  the  inexhaustible  riches  of  grace 
in  the  blessed  Spirit  of  God.  On  those  riches 
you  are  encouraged  to  rely,  and  to  draw  with- 
out-measure  and  without  end.  You  are  not 
required  to  act,  to  speak,  to  will,  to  feel,  to 
think,  but  in  dependence  on  that  divine  Agent. 
You  are  commanded  to  look  to  him  for  every 
variety  of  operation,  and  for  every  degree  of 
influence,  and  for  every  timely  putting  forth  of 
his  power  and  wisdom  that  the  exigency  of 
your  circumstances  may  require.  Read  espe- ' 
cially  the  following  passages  of  Scripture,  and 
ask  if  there  be  not  encouragement  enough 
here.  Luke  11 :  9-13 ;  Rom.  8  :  10-17 ;  James 
5  :  5,  6;  Gal.  5  :  22;  John  16  :  7-15;  2  Gor. 
12  : 9,  10. 

5.  Dwell  upon  the  general  complexion  of  the 
word  of  God^  as  so  largely  made  up  of  com- 
mands to  seek  salvation,  invitations  to  accept 
of  it,  promises  to  insure  it,  and  descriptions 
setting  forth  its  blessings  in  their  vastness, 
variety,  suitableness,  and  certainty. 

If  the  whole  Bible  were  to  be  summed  up  in 
one  short,  comprehensive  sentence,  it  would  be 


202  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

this,  "This  is  a  faithful  saying, and  worthy 

OF  ALL  acceptation,  THAT  JeSUS  ChRIST  CAME 
INTO   THE   WORLD   TO   SAVE    SINNERS,   EVEN    THE 

CHIEF."  Or  reducing  it  still  more,  it  would 
all  be  contained  in  that  one  word,  of  immense, 
infinite,  and  eternal  import,  salvation.  Every 
thing  in  the  Bible  tends  to  this  as  its  centre ; 
here  all  the  lines  of  history  and  prophecy,  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New,  the  law  and  gos- 
pel, meet.  Salvation  glimmers  amidst  the  clouds 
and  shadows  of  the  Levitical  economy,  and 
shines  forth  in  all  its  glory  from  the  facts  of 
the  Christian  dispensation.  It  was  the  subject 
that  dropped  in  sweet  but  mystic  accents  from 
the  lips  of  mercy  on  the  despairing  minds  of 
our  first  parents ;  it  was  the  subject  which 
came  in  the  softer  tones  of  the  ceremonial  law, 
when  the  thunders  of  the  decalogue  had  ceased 
to  terrify  the  affrighted  Israelites  in  Sinai ;  it 
was  the  subject  to  which  the  prophet  struck 
his  harp,  and  came  forth  in  the  Psalms  of 
David  and  the  rapt  ecstasies  of  Isaiah ;  it  was 
the  subject  which  angels  chose  as  the  theme  of 
their  song  on  the  night  of  Christ^s  nativity ;  it 
was  the  subject  which  evangelists  recorded  in 
their  histories,  and  apostles  described  in  their 


ENCOURAaEMENTS.  203 

epistles ;  and  which  even  the  awful  visions  of 
the  apocalypse  seemed  designed  to  magnify 
and  illustrate,  by  representing  it  as  the  point 
of  harmony  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  the 
link  that  connects  the  events  of  time  with  the 
glories  of  eternity.  The  Bible  then,  inquirer, 
presents  salvation  to  your  attention,  and  em- 
ploys all  its  fulness  to  attract,  all  its  authority 
to  command,  all  its  graciousness  to  invite  you 
to  the  pursuit  of  this  vast  possession ;  and  even 
uses  its  threatenings  and  its  thunders  for  the 
merciful  purpose  of  driving  you  for  refuge  to 
the  hope  set  before  you  in  the  gospel.  Is  not 
this  encouragement? 

6.  The  unchangeableness  of  God^s  nature  and 
covenant  are  a  source  of  boundless  hope. 

.  He  has  invited,  he  has  commanded,  he  has 
promised :  and  he  is  not  "  a  man  that  he  should 
lie,  nor  the  son  of  man  that  he  should  repent  f 
but  he  is  the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  there 
18  no  variableness  nor  shadow  of  change.  Im- 
mutable in  his  nature,  he  is  equally  so  in  his 
purpose  and  in  his  promise.  Whom  he  loveth, 
he  loveth  to  the  end.  Could  ycfii  examine  the 
secret  lists  of  his  friends,  you  would  find  nei- 
ther blots  nor  erasures  there.     "All  things 


204  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God, 
who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose. 
For  whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  pre- 
destinate to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son.  Moreover,  whom  he  did  predestinate, 
them  he  also  called;  and  whom  he  called, 
them  he  also  justified  ;  and  whom  he  justified, 
them  he  also  glorified.  What  shall  we  then 
say  to  these  things  ?  If  God  be  for  us,  who 
can  be  against  us?  Who  shall  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  Christ?  shalL tribulation,  or 
distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  naked- 
ness, or  peril,  or  sword?  Naj,  in  all  these 
things  we  are  more  than  conquerors,  through 
Him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  princi- 
palities, nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us 
from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord."  Eom.  8  :  28-39.  Sublime  language ! 
Triumphant  boast  I  Inspired  and  inspiring  ex- 
ultation! Heaven  heard  it,  and  approved ;  hell 
heard  it,  and  trembled ;  and  let  saints  on  earth 
hear  it,  and  rejoice.  Inquirer,  trust  in  this 
glorious  salvation:  when  begun  in  the  heart, 


ENCOURAaEMENTS.  205 

it  shall  be  carried  on  until  the  day  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Phil.  1 :  6.  The  Spirit,  who  builds 
for  himself  a  temple  in  the  soul  of  man,  will 
not  leave  it  unfinished,  nor  suffer  it  to  sink  to 
ruins  after  he  has  finished  it.  Though  enemies 
without  may  oppose  and  ridicule,  and  though 
enemies  within  may  stir  up  occasional  insur- 
rection and  interruption,  the  work  shall  go  on 
till  the  top-stone  shall  be  brought  forth  amidst 
the  shouts  of,  "  Grace,  grace.^'  The  purpose  of 
God  must  stand,  in  spite  of  all  the  force  or 
fraud,  the  power  and  malice  of  earth  and  hell 
combined.     Is  not  this  encouragement  ? 

7.  Consider  the  sympathies  and  prayers  of  the 
people  of  God, 

Discouraged  as  you  may  have  been  by  the 
indifference  and  lukewarmness  of  some,  let  it 
comfort  you  to  know  that  all  are  not  thus. 
There  are  myriads  of  holy  ministers  of  Christ, 
and  millions  of  pious  men  and  women,  from 
age  to  age,  pouring  out  their  fervent  supplica- 
tions to  God  for  those  who  are  inquiring  the 
way  to  Zion  with  their  faces  thitherward. 
Have  you  not  heard  your  case  borne,  with 
tenderness  and  minuteness  and  earnestness, 
upon  the  hearts  of  your  friends  at  the  meetings 


206  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

of  social  prayer,  and  by  your  ministers  when 
leading  the  devotions  of  the  great  congrega- 
tion ?  Have  you  not  thus  found  the  feelings  of 
the  assembly  poui^ed  in  a  full  tide  of  sympathy 
into  your  heart?  Yes,  and  not  only  do  the 
"Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come,"  in  this  public 
manner ;  not  only  does  the  voice  oi  united  prayer 
commend  you  to  God,  but  in  thousands  of  clos- 
ets of  praying  men  you  are  commended  to  God, 
and  divine  grace  is  implored  on  your  soul.  In 
those  sad  and  solemn  moments  when  you  are 
disheartened  and  ready  to  faint,  when,  instead 
of  prayer,  you  can  send  forth  nothing  but  groan- 
ings  which  cannot  be  uttered,  think  of  the 
many  intercessors  who  are  praying  for  you,  and 
"thank  God  and  take  courage." 

8.  Take  encouragement  from  the  considera- 
tion of  the  ministry  of  angels;  for  "are  they  not 
all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister 
unto  the  heirs  of  salvation?"  What  offices  they 
perform  we  know  not,  perhaps  because  tt  is  not 
safe  for  us  to  know;  why  they  are  employed 
we  know  not ;  or  what  is  the  extent  of  our  obli- 
gation we  know  not;  but  the  bare  fact  thai 
such  instruments  are  employed  about  you,  that 
such  attendants  are  engaged  upon  your  inter- 


ENCOUllAaEMENTS.  207 

ests,  such  spectators  are  witnessing  you,  such 
friends  are  sympathizing  with  you,  is  a  sweetly 
pleasing  and  encouraging  idea.  They  have 
already  rejoiced  over  your  conversion,  if  indeed 
you  are  converted ;  and  have  had  you  consigned 
to  their  care,  to  minister  to  your  welfare.  You 
may  be  despised  by  men,  but  you  are  regarded 
by  angels ;  you  may  be  neglected  by  men,  but 
you  are  attended  by  angels ;  you  may  be  dis- 
missed by  men,  but  you  are  associated  with 
angels ;  you  may  be  opposed  and  persecuted  by 
men,  but  angels  ''are  ministering  spirits  sent 
forth  to  minister"  unto  your  salvation.  Is  not 
this  encouragement? 

9.  Consider  how  many,  who  were  once  tried, 
disheartened,  weak  as  you  now  are,  have  been 
carried  in  safety  through  all  their  difficulties^  and 
are  now  before  the  throne  of  God  in  glory 
everlasting. 

The  apostle  John  seems  to  have  set  all  the 
doors  of  the  heavenly  temple  ajar,  and  the  win- 
dows a  little  open,  that  the  sights  within  may 
just  beam  upon  our  eyes,  and  the  sounds  just 
undulate  on  our  ears.  "After  this  I  beheld, 
and  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could 
u umber,   of   all   nations,   and    kindreds,   and 


208  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne, 
and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes, 
and  palms  in  their  hands;  and  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying.  Salvation  to  our  God  which 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb." 
Rev.  7:9,  10.  And  who  are  they  that  send 
forth  such  strains  ?  They  that  had  come  "  out 
of  great  tribulation,  and  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  and  clean  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb."  They  were  once  upon  earth ;  once 
men  of  like  passions  with  yourself;  once  begin- 
ning their  religious  course,  as  you  now  are ; 

"  Once  they  were  mourning  here  below, 
And  wet  their  couch  with  tears ; 
They  wrestled  hard,  as  we  do  now, 
With  sins  and  doubts  and  fears." 

There  is  not  a  burden  that  oppresses  your 
heart,  but  what  oppressed  theirs ;  there  is  not 
a  fear  that  agitates  your  mind,  but  what  agi- 
tated theirs ;  there  is  not  a  temptation  that  as- 
sails you,  but  what  assailed  them ;  there  is  not 
an  obstacle  that  terrifies  you,  but  what  terri- 
fied them ;  they  were  once  as  ignorant,  as  weak, 
as  sinful,  as  timid,  as  discouraged,  as  you; 
there  is  not  a  sorrow,  a  perplexity,  or  a  danger 
with  which  you  are  painfully  familiar,  but  they 


ENCOURAaEMENTS.  209 

passed  through  before  jou.  But  there  they  are 
in  heaven,  "more  than  conquerors"  over  all 
these  things,  through  Him  that  loved  them^ 
He  that  saved  them  has  engaged  to  save  you ; 
nor  is  his  ear  heavy,  or  his  arm  shortened. 
"Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about 
with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay 
aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so 
easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the 
race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the 
author  and  finisher  of  our  faith."   Heb.  12 : 1,  2. 

10.  Let  the  magnitude  of  the  blessing  you  are 
seeking,  and  tJie  prospect  of  its  consummation  in 
eternal  glory,  encourage  you. 

You  are  seeking  salvation,  a  word  which 
none  but  the  mind  of  God  can  comprehend,  for 
it  includes,  as  I  have  already  said,  what  is  infi- 
nite and  eternal.  It  will  bless  you  for  both 
worlds,  this  and  the  next.  In  the  present  life, 
it  will  bestow  upon  you  the  pardon  of  all  your 
sins;  the  justification  of  your  person;  the  re- 
newal  and  sanctification  of  your  nature ;  adop- 
tion into  the  family  of  God;'  the  spirit  of 
adoption ;  a  guardian  of  your  reputation ;  a  pro- 
tector of  your  property ;  an  auxiliary  to  your 
health;  a  s})riiig  of  comfort  in  the  dreariest 

Inquirer.  ]  ,| 


210  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

situation;  a  light  in  the  darkest  scene  of  dis- 
tress; a  companion  in  the  deepest  solitude;  a 
counsellor  in  every  perplexity ;  a  help  in  weak- 
ness ;  a  check  in  temptation :  it  will  associate 
you  with  the  redeemed  and  holy  people  of 
God,  conduct  you  in  honor  through  the  chang- 
ing scenes  of  life,  attend  you  to  the  verge  of 
eternity,  soften  your  dying  pillow,  assuage  the 
grief  of  separation,  and  cheer  you,  amidst  the 
agonies  of  death,  with  the  hopes  of  immortality. 
And  all  this  is  but  the  prelude,  the  earnest  and 
the  foretaste  of  what  awaits  you  beyond  the 
grave.  What  that  is,  should  be  told  only  in 
the  words  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  "  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  has  ear  heard,  neither  have  en- 
tered into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which 
God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him." 
*' Father,"  said  our  Lord,  "I  will  that  they 
whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me  where  I 
am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory."  "  So  shall 
we  ever  be  with  the  Lord."  "He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life."  "  To  them 
who,  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek 
for  glory,  honor,  and  immortality,  eternal  life." 
*'  Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eter- 


ENCOURAaEMENTS.  211 

nal  weight  of  glory ;  for  the  things  which  are 
not  seen  are  eternal."  "  Who  hath  begotten  us 
to  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and 
that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for 
you,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God,  through 
faith,  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in 
the  last  time."  ''  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what 
we  shall  be :  but  we  know  that  when  He  shall 
appear,  we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is."  "  After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo,  a 
great  multitude  which  no  man  could  number, 
of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and 
tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the 
Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands,  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  say- 
ing. Salvation  to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are 
they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him 
day  and  night  in  his  temple ;  and  He  that  sit- 
teth on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them. 
They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any 
more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor 
any  heat.  For  the  Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead 
them  to  living  fountains  of  waters ;  and  God 
shall  wipe  awaj^  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 


212  THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER. 

Anxious  inquirer  after  salvation,  commit 
your  soul  and  all  your  interests  to  Jesus  Clirist ; 
"live  not  unto  yourself,  but  unto  Him  -who 
died  for  you  and  rose  again ;"  look  upward  to 
heaven,  and  in  his  strength  press  onward ;  and 
you,  yes  you,  unworthy  as  you  are  and  see 
yourself  to  be,  shall  inherit  that  "  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory"  which  He  has 
prepared  for  all  that  love  him. 


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OLD  TESTAMENT,  Vol.  I.  Genesis  to  Job.    75  cents. 

SACRED  SONGS 

For  Family  and  Social  Worship. 

Selected  by  Prof.  Hastings,  with  the  counsel  of  Lowell, 
Mason,  Esq.,  for  general  and  permanent  use;  containing 
320  hymns,  and  182  tunes ;  12mo,  55  cents. 

SONGS  OF  ZION. 

A  smaller  selection  of  93  favorite  tunes  with  hymns,  which 
is  gaining  a  wide  circulation ;  25  cents. 

THE  GENERAL  SERIES  OF  TRACTS, 

Is  issued  in  a  new  edition  of  twelve  volumes,  with  fine  ea- 
gravings.    Price  $6  GO. 

THIRTEEN  PACKETS  OF  SELECT  TRACTS 

Are  also  issued  in  a  convenient  form  for  booksellers  and 
others,  at  25  cents  a  Packet  of  376  pages  each 

PICTORIAL  NARRATIVES. 

Twenty-four  Tracts  selected  for  the  masses  of  readers ; 
248  pages,  12mo,  35  cents,  or  50  gilt. 


JlhieHcqif)  I^^cf  §ocIefij, 


NEW  YORK,  150  NASSAU-STREET;  BOSTON,  28  CORNHILL; 
PHILADELPHIA,  303  CHESTNUT-STREET. 


YA  03875 


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